The Only Exception
by Cena-holic8
Summary: AU. Both down on love and believing it was just a myth, Yuuki Cross and Zero Kiryuu looked like the two most unlikely people to fall in love... especially with each other. But love can be so unpredictable.
1. Chapter 1

**I know.. another Zero/Yuuki story... what can I say. I can't help myself :) This idea just struck me today and I just had to write it down. I know it's a little short but it's more like a little intro. So hopefully you like it :) Oh and it's rated T for some laguage used.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight... If i did Zeki would be canon.. and Kaname wouldn't have even been created haha :)**

_**The Only Exception**_

What is love? I've heard it can be such a beautiful thing that can be shared between a man and woman. I remember when I was little, my dad used to read me stories. Fairy tales, about princesses always pining and waiting for the prince to come and rescue them. He would always be riding on the back of a white stallion and defeat the villain of the story with ease. Then they would ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after. And 5 year old Yuuki always believed that her prince would come one day and sweep her off her feet. That was until a few days before her 6th birthday.

Her mom and dad always fought. She could hear it through the paper thin walls of their small home. Her dad would sometimes come home drunk at 2 or 3 in the morning and her mom would always accuse of him having an affair. It was the same thing over and over again. So on this night, it seemed no different. That was until she heard her mother screaming and crying. It wasn't usual at all.

Little Yuuki tip-toed over to her parents room to make sure everything was alright. Not too soon after she reached the right room, her dad came storming out of it with suitcases in his hands. He walked briskly past her and her mom was chasing after him. "Please don't do this, Haruka!"

The older man stopped and abruptly turned around, "I have to, I can't do this anymore! Did you even think for one minute, Juri, as to why I would have an affair? I can't take being with you any longer!"

He took in one long breath and looked at his only daughter. And in that moment, Yuuki knew she was never going to see her dad again. "...Dad?"

He looked at her only a moment longer until he looked down and quickly walked out the door. Yuuki ran after him and yelled Dad over and over again. Not once did he look back. She stood in the front yard as he got into his car and drove off into the darkness. She began to cry. Her mother cam up behind her and hugged her, "Listen to me, Yuuki. Never let a man become your entire world, because in the end it's not worth it at all."

And through the years to the now 17 year old Yuuki Cross, she listened to her mothers words. She never heard from her father again. She later learned that he did run off with another woman and they have a family of their own. No room for her in that picture but he never tried to get in contact with her. After he left, her mother had to sell their home and move into an apartment building. She had to work 2 jobs just to make sure Yuuki had everything she needed. She loved her mother, valued her above anyone else.

So for that, Yuuki hated love. She hated the emotion, the actual thought of it was revolting to her. It was just some silly little girl's fantasy. It never lasted and true love just didn't exist. It was a revolting thing that someone created to be funny. It brought nothing but heartbreak and shame. Why would she want anything to do with that? Her best friend Yori was the exact opposite.

She believed that her soul mate was out there. Love was something you had to sacrifice a lot for but in the end it was well worth it. Yuuki watched her go through her many break ups and sat up late at night to hear how her last boyfriend cheated on her. Or the many times she had to hear her dear friend get upset over something that she shouldn't even worry about. Men were all the same. They get what they want then drop you as suddenly as they came. Her friend never got that.

Yuuki always remembered Yori saying how beautiful Yuuki truly was and how she could have any guy she wanted. And Yuuki always rolled her eyes and said, "I don't want any one of them in the first place."

Now that it was the 2 friends' senior year of high school, Yori would not shut up about Yuuki finally getting a boyfriend. Because of her outlook on love, Yuuki of course never had one. And her best friend thought that was such a taboo. She never cared so why start now just because it was her senior year?

"What about him? He's the perfect package; tall, dark, and handsome." Yori pointed over to the closest guy to them. He was leaning up against the lockers and practically undressing her with his eyes...disgusting.

Yuuki rolled her eyes and pulled her friend into the classroom 214; they were supposed to go in. "Oh yeah and the fact that he was practically eye fucking me makes him the total package. Girls must simply swoon over that little fact."

"God Yuuki, its a crime for a guy to check you out. You know, most girls take that as a compliment." The blonde turned away from her friend and sat down in her seat. Yuuki doing the same. "It's supposed to mean that you are beautiful enough to catch his attention."

Yuuki rolled her eyes again as she took out her Calculus book and homework. She couldn't believe how wrong her best friend was. "How so naive you are, Yori. You want to know what that really means? He just wants to fuck me then leave me for the next best thing that would come along."

"You're so cynical." She pointed out before taking out her book and homework too. "Sometimes I wonder how we are best friends."

"Believe me, I wonder too." The two girls looked at each other but then giggled. Class then started and so now it was Yuuki's time to focus. Math was never her best subject.

* * *

What is love? He always thought he used to know it. With his mother, father, and twin brother, there was always plenty of love to go around. He would remember they were always considered such a close family. Hardly any argument could be heard in the house. His mother and father loved each other will all their hearts. You could just see it in their eyes. Ichiru, his twin, was weaker than most kids. But he always wanted to stay close to his big brother. Zero remembered feeling such love when he was with his family.

That was until that horrible night when he was only 6 years old. It was way past midnight and Zero didn't feel right all night. He just couldn't shake that feeling he had. He was very in tune to his surroundings at even his young age. All was quiet when he finally drifted off too sleep. Everyone in the house was way past gone from this world. Until suddenly Zero woke to an awfully loud scream... his mothers scream.

He hurriedly hopped out of bed while he heard Ichiru say, "Don't go, Zero. I'm scared."

Running over to his twin's bed side, he said, "It's ok... I'll be right back I promise."

Then he ran to the door. For someone who was only 6, it was pretty brave. But once he thinks back now, he should have just took Ichiru and ran away from the house. Then at least his twin brother would have survived. There was no hope for his parents by the time he had awaken.

Because as soon as he peeked out his bedroom door, he heard someone say, "They have children!" And after that, everything was such a blur. He remembered telling Ichiru to run and hide but then everything was black after that. And when he came too, he was in a white hospital room with machines hooked up to him. He had been shot in the back and they told him it was a miracle he was still alive... some miracle.

His beloved family slaughtered, every last one of them. So because of this and since he had no other family to take him in, he was put into a foster home. But that was the first of many to come. He swore to himself from that day on, he would never love anyone again. Never even get attached to anyone or anything. Let the government system do whatever they want with him. Go on with life without any problems or weaknesses which love brought.

Now 18 year old Zero Kiryuu had been to 12 foster homes and about 3 or 4 group homes. He built up that wall and no one has much less penetrated it. But now that he was 18, he didn't have to deal with foster homes anymore. He got a job and could afford a single room apartment. He thought of dropping out of school but decided against it. Might as well finish it since he always got the best grades of the many schools that he has been too.

Although on the first day of his new school, he was already late for class. As he was walking out of the parking lot into the school he heard the bell ring loudly.

He cursed silently to himself. He hurriedly walked to his classroom, hoping the teacher wasn't the kind to care too much of tardiness. He couldn't afford to get a detention because he had his job he had to go to after school.

He opened the door to room 214 and stepped inside to meet the gazes of his classmates that were all on him. The teacher who was up at the board writing their latest equation they had to solve, cleared his throat. Zero's gaze shifted to the teacher. "Mr. Kiryuu, I hope tardiness isn't your usual."

He gave him a blank expression, "No, Mr. Shinji. I just had a hard time finding the classroom."

"Ok, I will accept that since it is your first day. Just don't make it a habit." Mr. Shinji turned fully toward his students, "Class this is Zero Kiryuu. He's a transfer student so please make him feel welcome... Zero, please take that empty seat next to Miss Cross."

Zero only lightly nodded and took the seat next to a pretty brunette girl that didn't even seem to notice him. Not that he cared one way or the other. Although the blonde on the other side of her was eying him up and down. Great, just what I need. A girl that thinks I'm totally hot. That's what all girls seemed to be. Every one he met seemed to swoon over him... pathetic.

**So tell me what u think? Continue or don't? Review to tell me :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to _DevilishBea-Anime-Couple-Lover _and _abiecula_ for the reviews. I'm glad you liked it. I love that you took the time to tell me to continue :) Because I love this story idea too haha**

**So here's chapter 2. Read and review telling me what you think. I'm trying very hard to keep Zero's character close to how he is in the anime/manga. So tell me if I did or not. Ok, enough talk... Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

_'Calculus is going to be the death of me!' _Yuuki thought to herself. She was hardly getting anything that has to do with this class. And unlike her best friend Yori, she actually cared about her academics. The teacher was writing up the latest equation but she was lost at the very beginning. She was so engrossed in her thoughts and her notes that she had a delayed reaction to the late arrival to the class.

She looked up as soon as Mr. Shinji declared the new transfer student was to sit in the empty seat next to her. She rolled her eyes for the third time today, _'Like we need another boy in this class'_. As he was approaching them to take his seat, Yuuki gave him the once over. He had unusually silver hair that was kept short with the most beautiful lavender eyes she had ever seen, even though she would hate to admit that. Actually she didn't think she knew anyone with those colored eyes. He was really good looking, tall and lean figure so she knew she was going to hear it from Yori. But there really wasn't that much else interesting about him. He had a bored expression painted on his face.

Bored now, she got back to try and figure out this problem. Although when he sat down beside her, she heard someone catch a breath right beside her. She was correct. Yori was sizing him up right now and was probably thinking of ways to get to talk to him. Whatever, it really didn't matter to her. He was just another guy that Yori would fall for and he would drop her.

A half hour went by and the bell rang. Yuuki was nowhere near up to speed as she thought she should be. She really was going to fail this class and she could kiss Harvard or Yale goodbye. As she was getting up, Yori hurriedly whispered, "Did you check out the new student?"

"Oh my gosh, Yori. You should know by now that I have no interest in dating." Yuuki stated clearly.

The blonde shook her head, "No I didn't mean for you... I know that. I meant for me." She got all starry-eyed. Oh god, not another one of her rants. "He totally seems like he's got that whole bad boy exterior but I bet he's absolutely great. I mean he is so hot... I have never seen someone as good looking as him. This must be it. He must be my soul mate... I can feel it."

_'Yeah that's what you said about the last boyfriend.'_ Yuuki thought sarcastically. Her friend really was unbelievable. She looked over to see that he was now on his way out of the classroom. He looked positively bored and no amount of emotion was on his face. Yori was still blabbering on and on so Yuuki shook her head and said, "Well if you want dibbs on him, you better try to talk to him now. Every other girl in here are looking to snatch him up."

She knew she could never talk sense into Yori so she stated the obvious. She wasn't lying. She observed as he was walking out of the room, every girl in the class blushed and sighed dreamily. _'And I bet he is eating it up. He's probably one big playboy. With looks like that it wouldn't be a surprise' _

"You're right, Yuuki! I have to turn on the Yori charm... works every time." She winked at the brunette and Yuuki just had to giggle. She really was impossible when it came to hot guys.

She gathered all her books and looked up at her friend, "I'll see you at lunch then."

Hurrying to her next class, Chemistry, she did not seem to notice anyone else in that class. She went right to her seat and tried to study more on her Calculus. Chemistry was an easy task for her. She already knew what the teacher was talking about as soon as class started. So she was back into Calculus. She was so engrossed in it, she failed to notice her pencil falling on the floor. A pale, lithe hand picked it up.

* * *

Zero was so bored at the moment. He already knew the material so he was glancing off into space. He looked to the floor and saw a pencil that must have belonged to the girl in front of him. He had no choice but to pick it up and give it to her. It looked like she wasn't listening to the lesson either. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around to look at him.

She really was a pretty brunette. She had long, chocolate brown hair paired with wide chestnut colored eyes. But as soon as she laid eyes on him, her perfect brows turned into a frown."Yes?"

This took him by surprise somehow. Usually girls got all giggly and blushed whenever he made any move to talk to them. Not that he cared much. But from the way she was looking at him, it looked like she would rather have been left alone.

"... You dropped this." He held out the pencil to her. She looked to make sure it was surely what he said then nodded.

"Thanks." Then she hurriedly turned back around. Why did he get this immediate sense that she disliked him? He didn't do anything that could provoke this feeling. What the hell? Why do I care anyway? She's probably just another snobby girl. Why was he over thinking it? Zero never thought this much about a girl. Strange.

* * *

After getting the pencil back from the silver-haired guy, she got back to her studying. She had no time to think of the situation. Though by the time Chemistry was over, she still had no idea what was going on in her Calculus class. She sighed. Why couldn't this be any easier? Plus there was a big exam on the material in just a little under a month. How was she going to get this? She got up out of her seat, gathering her things and hurried off to her next class.

The next 2 periods passed by in a blur. She did remember though that she had another class with the new student. So that's 3 out of the 4 in the morning? Jeesh but whatever. She couldn't for the life of her remember what his name was though. When she found Yori waiting for outside of the lunch room, she could see that the girl was in a good mood.

"Yuuki," Yori waved her over, "You'll never guess what happened! I got to talk to Zero!"

Zero! That was it. Anyway back to her friend, "That's good Yori. What did you talk about?"

She looked to the floor, "Well it wasn't nothing big. I was the one that initiated it anyway." She looked up at her best friend, "I just asked for the Calculus assignment we had to do."

Yuuki shook her head, "Jeesh, Yori. I thought I was expecting to hear u guys were going out or something by the way you waved me over."

"I can't help it! He makes me heart beat really fast and I get so nervous!" Yori exclaimed. "I told you he is the one for me."

The brunette had to roll her eyes at that. The 2 girls got their lunches and went to sit at their table. They chatted about school but mostly Yori wanted to talk about Zero. Yuuki knew she was in for a whole month on this one. Glancing around the lunch room, she spotted the mysterious boy. Beyond the jock table, she could see him sitting alone, doing what looked to be homework. She was quietly observing him while she could hear her friend blabbing away in her ear. She didn't know why she was so interested in what he was doing.

For as long as she could remember, she thought guys were all the same; boring and pathetic. Always afraid of getting into a relationship and always bailing out when the going got tough. Sure she had her share of guys asking her out. The ever popular, Kaname Kuran, tried but was instantly shot down. And for a long time her view on guys were always proven right. From what Yori would always cry to her about. So why did she get this feeling that he wasn't like all the rest?

_'I must be losing it or something. Maybe I'm getting sick or something' _Yuuki thought. She went back to her conversation with her best friend. Only 4 more periods then she could start hardcore studying on her Calculus.

* * *

The rest of the day was as boring as ever. Zero knew he would hate this school. He knew he would have hated any school he would have chosen. He reminded himself though he had to finish and graduate. Better paying jobs with a high school degree. Whatever, he could bear the rest of this school year.

He especially hated all the new breed of girls he had to deal with. Having to deal with them cry and run when he wouldn't accept a dinner invitation or the more rated R requests. He wasn't mean, he was sure of that. He just had no interest in dating. Girls were all the same. They were so flaky and could be a down right bitch. All they wanted was a boyfriend. He found them pathetic, always swooning over cuter guys. Zero just didn't see what the big deal was about him. He thought he gave off that aura that said leave me alone. I guess all those girls thought that as a challenge. Maybe they liked the idea of making him finally fall in love with someone.

He never had a girlfriend obviously. Like what he said above, he just thought it would be a waste of time. He decided that he would just live his life until it was his time to go. He would love to have the opportunity to see his family again.

He closed his eyes as he was sitting in his one bedroom apartment. He would give anything to just see them one more time. Or maybe try to change the course of events that happened that horrible night. But he couldn't. So he would just get through his life until his time was finally up.

Girls was the last thing on his mind. Although one girl did perk his curiosity. That pretty brunette, Yuuki her name was. He didn't know why. He hasn't even spoken more that 3 words to the girl. Maybe it was because she didn't fall all over him. She looked like she downright hated him. It was different he must say. But nothing to spark an interest or anything.

So pushing her aside, because he had no idea why she was on his mind in the first place, he went to get dressed to go to his part time job.

* * *

Yuuki was having a bad day. First her mom forgot to wake her up so she was running late for school. Then her favorite parking spot was taken at the school parking lot. Her locker wouldn't open so it was making her rush even more. So when she got to first period Calculus, she was so not in the mood for it. After getting all her other homework from all her other classes done with ease, she spent most of the night studying Calculus. She still didn't know what sign or cosign meant, and what is this tangent? So you could hear her groan when she saw they were moving to a new lesson that you did have to know all that stuff.

Freaking out was what she was doing. So she had no choice. She had to talk to Mr. Shinji about this. So this was how her bad day got even worse. As soon as class was over, she hurried over to the teacher.

"Excuse me, Mr. Shinji."

The older man looked up from his desk and smiled, "Yes, Yuuki?"

Yuuki did feel embarrassed asking for help. I mean she had all the top grades, so it was a surprise to her that she had to ask. But she just swallowed her pride. "Ummm I was wondering if there was any way that you could help me with this. I still have no idea what we are doing."

He nodded, "Of course I could. I have noticed that you haven't been catching on to it. Because from what I have heard from other teachers, you seemed to be exceptionally bright."

She blushed at this. She hated compliments. "Umm well yes. But I just don't seem to be catching on at all."

"Oh don't worry, Yuuki. I'm glad you could come to me for help. That means you really want to try." He gave her another small smile, "I'm sorry though I don't really have the time to myself." Yuuki looked defeated. She definitely was going to fail. "But I think I can set you up with a tutor."

Her eyes brightened. "That would be great, Mr. Shinji."

"Great! And luckily he hasn't left yet. You can meet him." He said. "Mr. Kiryuu, could you come over for a minute please?"

Yuuki had to keep her mouth from opening in shock. The new student was going to be her tutor? How could this be? She looked over to see the handsome guy walk over to her. "You needed me for something?"

The brunette could have died right there. "Umm Mr. Shinji, he hasn't even been here for that long. How could he help me on my work?"

Zero's eyes slightly widened. He was going to help her with what? He looked over at the older man. "Actually, Yuuki, before Zero came to this school, he was in advanced Calculus. And he got very high marks on it. But since our school here only offers Calculus, he came to this class. So no one would be a more better pick than him."

ADVANCED Calculus? Yuuki looked over at the boy as he slightly shrugged. So he actually was a pretty smart guy? Wow, she never would have guessed. The teacher continued, breaking her train of thought, "So Zero, would you mind maybe 3 or 4 days a week tutoring Miss Cross here?"

Welcome to her own personal hell. Did she want this strange person, a boy for that matter, tutor her when she should already know whats going on? That would be a hell no. But she had no other choice. She looked over at him to wait for his answer.

After awhile he finally shrugged and said apathetically, "Sure."

The teacher smiled, "Great... now you two better head to class. Here I will give you a late pass."

They each took a pass from the teacher and headed off to Chemistry. Walking side by side, Yuuki was intenally freaking out. Why did this have to happen to her? The new handsome guy would have to teach her how to do Calculus. Hopefully, this wasn't just a play for her. She has had this happen before. Except it would be switched; Yuuki would be the one to tutor them but if they ever got alone, the guys would try to put the moves on her. After awhile, she just stopped doing it all together. She looked to the silver haired guy beside her.

He was just staring ahead, not saying anything to her and not even looking her direction. She had to start talking because she needed to know when they could start. Hopefully, he really was going to tutor her. "Um, excuse me?"

No reply came from the strange guy. Ok, Yuuki thought she was going out of her way to be polite. He should have the same courtesy to do it back. So she tried again, "Uhh, excuse me?"

Still nothing from him. Not even a glance in her direction. This is the first time that the brunette has ever been ignored. Well fine, if politeness doesn't work, she will just have to try a different direction. "OIIII! Are you deaf?"

Finally, he stopped walking and looked in her direction. She stopped just a little ahead of him. "No, I'm not. Just didn't feel like answering you."

Yuuki could feel anger build up inside her. That's why he was ignoring her? Jeesh, he was a bigger jerk than she thought. But she had to kind of be nice. I mean, he was the one going out of his way to tutor her in something she desperately needed the help on. So she repressed her anger and said, "Oh, well I was just wondering when would be a good time for you to start my tutoring?"

"I'll get back to you on that." He stated simply then started to walk past her.

She quickly fell in pace with him, "Well I would like to know as soon as possible. I mean, as you can tell I'm not getting the hang of it at all and I would like to know what the teacher is talking about."

He stopped walking again and turned to her. He looked her straight in the face and asked, "So you really want my help with your Calculus?"

The brunette girl looked at the silver-haired guy, confused. "Umm well yeah. I thought you agreed to what Mr. Shinji proposed to you?"

"I did but I have been over this with other girls. So I never take it seriously."

"What does that mean?"

He scoffed, "Like you don't know. I just thought this was just a plan of yours just so you can spend time with me. Girls are all the same."

Okay, she just couldn't take it anymore. This guy needed to have his ego be shot done a peg or two. "This is nothing like that. Why would I want to spend more time with the likes of you? Actually when Mr. Shinji called you over, I dreaded the very thought of me having to get help from you. And I take offense to that comment. Because FYI, girls aren't all the same."

* * *

Zero had to admit he was taken back a bit by the brunette's words. No girl; no, no one has ever talked to him like that before. He thought when he was asked to do this, Yuuki put Mr. Shinji up for this. But looking back she did seem to not like this arrangement at all. This girl could possibly right. She could be different from any other girl he has met all his life.

He smirked and said, "We have a study hall 6th period together right?"

Yuuki nodded lightly but was wondering where he was going with this. He started to walk forward again and said to the girl, "Prepare yourself."

He smirked to himself. This could surely be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to _abiecula_, _Krizteena_, _animeguysaremylife_, _jorie_, _animeluver3460_, and _DofD _for the reviews. Wow 7 reviews? Really, that's awesome! You guys are amazing and some even went back and reviewed the first chapter! Thanks a bunch guys. I'm glad you love the story. **

**On to the excuse as to why it has been a long time… well I had a lot of crap going on in my life so I only worked on this chapter occasionally. And then when I was almost done with it, my laptop crashed! Oh boy, was I mad! So it was way better the first time writing it, so I hope you guys like the finished product!**

**So enough excuses! Enjoy and review… you know you want to :) **

* * *

_I've just learned never to fall in love.  
It's just a big waste of time_

* * *

'_Of all the most arrogant jerks I have ever come across, he has surely got to be one of the worst,' _Yuuki thought to herself as she was heading off to lunch. Just because she needed his help badly didn't give him the right to act all high and mighty. Ever since their little confrontation, every time she would look his way, he would silently smirk to himself. She knew what that smirk meant. And she was surely not stupid.

And this irritated her to no end. Yuuki Cross was never even considered. She was exceptionally bright, straight As in every class except this dreaded Calculus. Oh why couldn't the good lord grant her with brains that knew Calculus off hand? Then she wouldn't have to deal with this conceited jerk. As she was walking, she spotted her best friend, waiting for her in her usual spot. Yori could tell the brunette was not in a good mood.

"Hey Yuuki, what's up?" The blonde asked cautiously. When Yuuki was mad, you better not try to do anything to try to worsen it. If you got her started, then she would just keep on going. The brunette was really stubborn. _'I guess that means no talking about the hot Zero today…damn,' _Yori thought defeated. But Yuuki was her best friend.

The brunette girl looked at her and said, "Nothing," and stomped in the lunchroom in a huff. _'Whoever made her in this mood, I will personally kill them,' _Yori thought and hurried after her friend.

"Come on, Yuuki. You look like you got your panties in a twist about something."

Yuuki didn't say anything at first but gave a little glare to her friend for the comment. Zero was surely irritating her but it was only the first day. And she had to put up with a whole month with him. _'So I should try to calm myself down and be at peace with myself.' _Yuuki took a deep breath but then said, "Ok, I seriously don't know what you see in that arrogant jerk that you like so much!"

'_So much for being at peace with myself,' _Yuuki thought. Yori was taken back a little at the comment. "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"He's a jerk! He thinks he's all high and mighty just because he has to tutor me in Calculus! Hmph, yeah right! Wait until that Chemistry pop quiz we had today comes back! I'm sure I scored way higher than—"

"Wait, wait, wait! Back up a little. You got a hot stud like that to _tutor_ you? Are you kidding me!" the blonde exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes, "Yori, please. I'm really in no mood for one of your rants on how great he is. Because if you haven't noticed, I most certainly don't think he is."

Her best friend got that dreamy look on her face. Yuuki knew what was coming. "He has every right to be a little arrogant. I mean, he is so hot; beautiful lavender eyes, pale white skin, silver-white hair. He looks like a prince who just stepped out of a fairytale. I have never seen any other guy like him. And he's smart too? God, he's just too good to be true…"

Yuuki had to hold in the urge to vomit. That's certainly not the impression she got from him at all. She turned away from the blonde and spotted the very person they were talking about almost immediately. He didn't notice her yet thankfully. She didn't want to be caught looking at him because she didn't care what he was doing. She was just curious. He looked to be doing homework again, sitting alone and with no food in front of him.

Then she saw a group of three girls went over to talk to him. He looked up at them, emotionlessly as they went on talking. Then she saw him shake his head and reply something back. He went back to his work while the girls walked away, defeated. _'Jeesh, is no one good enough for him?' _Yuuki thought to herself.

Tearing her eyes away from him, she went back to her friend. "You are right about one thing. He surely is different. I just think it all went to his head."

"You're so lucky, Yuuki! You get to spend all that extra time with him, which me and the other girls would only dream to be in that position…" The blonde girl said, looking actually upset over that little fact.

Yuuki did feel bad even though she really shouldn't. I mean, come on Yori was her best friend. The naïve gullible girl did always get her heart broken so of course Yuuki was way protective. She did not deserve to get her heart smashed in all the time because she took things to heart. Yuuki put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "Look, I'm not happy about this, ok? I will bitch and complain about this for awhile but in the end I have to deal. And if there was any way that we could trade places, believe me, I would jump at the chance."

Her friend looked at her as the brunette, "And like I said, I will bitch but I do really need his help with Calculus. Unlike most, I do care what my grades are like."

The bell sounded and the two friends got up and out of the lunchroom. "I'll see you later, ok?"

Yori smiled and nodded, "Ok, I'll see you in gym."

Yuuki walked off to her Spanish class. She was so not looking forward for the class after Spanish. If she could think of her own personal hell, this would surely be it.

* * *

Study hall was always so boring to him. He always got his homework done during lunch since he never even ate lunch anyway. Money was tight enough without him having to buy a lunch when most of the time he wasn't even hungry anyway. So since he never ate lunch, he had to try to make himself look busy. Girls always found this as a time to be brave and ask him to do something or other with them. Girls were truly annoying beings.

But as he walked through the doors to his 6th period class, he somehow knew this class would never be boring again. He already caught the annoyed glare that pretty brunette was sending him. Why he found this amusing? He couldn't tell you. He smirked as he made his way over to sit next to her.

As he sat down, he asked, "Got a problem?"

"Would it matter to you if I did?" She shot right back at him.

Knowing this was meant as a rhetorical question, Zero answered anyway with a shake of his head. Yuuki scoffed and turned away from him to look at the teacher talking about the rules of the study hall which was pretty lenient. She went to get out her book and notebook for notes.

Zero looked over at her, watching her take out her materials. He thought that she better be ready for this because he was not a very patient person and is in no way a good tutor. So she better be able to keep up with him. He had to feel sorry for her a little, well maybe just a little.

"Since it's going to be a whole month of this, I expect you to call me by name. I haven't heard you say it and I would like to know if you are talking to me." Zero began and watched her again turn to him.

Yuuki held in a roll of her eyes and said, "Ok, Ze—"

Zero held up his index finger, signaling her to stop talking. "On second thought, call me… teacher. It has more of a 'I'm way smarter than you' feel to it. Wouldn't you agree?"

The brunette gritted her teeth and squeezed her pen so hard it surely would break into two. _'He has the fucking nerve.' _So through her gritted teeth, she replied, "Ok, _teacher_."

Zero smirked smugly. Then he reached out and patted her head like she was a five year old child, "That's a good student. See, it wasn't that hard was it?"

Yuuki was about to tell him just where he could shove that hand he touched her with. But she inwardly took a deep, long breath. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of reacting to his ridiculously stupid banter. So she bit the inside of her cheek and just shook her head.

The man was certainly enjoying himself. She was surely unlike any other girl he had ever come across. This tutoring could really be worth his time. So sliding her book over in front of him and started to get to work.

"Ok so we will start with the definitions of sign, cosign, and tangent of a circle. The sign of a circle is—"

"But wait…" Yuuki interrupted. "Are you sure that's the best way to go about me learn—"

"Are you questioning your teacher?"

He heard what sounded like a little snarl coming from the brunette and she turned her head to face the other direction. He had to fight not to laugh. But then Yuuki turned back to him and dazzled him with a smile. Did he really just think dazzle?

"Of course not, teacher! You're far more intelligent than I, a mere student. I will never ever question your teachings again!" Yuuki replied enthusiastically, putting her right hand to her forehead as in she was saluting him.

He couldn't keep it in anymore. He let out a small chuckle and the brunette girl was taken back a little bit. Looking at him, he almost seemed cute, chuckling to himself. _'Wait! What are you thinking, you stupid girl! Zero is a pompous jerk, a good looking pompous jerk. But nonetheless, a jerk!' _Yuuki scolded herself. _'Damn these freaking hormones! I need to stop listening to Yori and one of her rants about him…'_

Zero still had a light smile on his face when he tried to continue, "Well now that we got that taken care of, the sign of a circle is—"

"Umm excuse me?" Zero whipped his head around to the unknown voice to find a mousy brown-haired girl with glasses. Yuuki looked and recognized her as Shindo. The girl reminded her of a librarian. Once Zero set his gaze on her, she asked, "Umm do you got a minute?"

Zero's light smile had instantly dropped the moment he laid eyes on the girl. "Is it important?" He asked promptly.

The girl was surprised by him but said timidly, "Well not exactly…"

"Then no I don't have a minute." He turned back to the Calculus book but Yuuki saw that the girl didn't leave after obviously getting the cold shoulder. Who would believe that this girl had the guts to do it?

"Well it's important to me…" Shindo stated.

Zero figured he better just let her finish what she wanted to say. So when he turned his head back to her she started to say, "Well, I like you, Zero Kiryuu. So I was thinking that maybe we could go get a coffee sometime?"

He let out a sigh and his eyebrows furrowed a little into a frown. "I'm sorry but no, I can't."

Then he turned back to the book as if saying that was all. Yuuki saw the girl get teary-eyed, put her head down, and shuffle back to her seat. The brunette felt pity for the poor girl. That had to take quite a bit of courage to do, especially since she was known for being so quiet.

So before the silver-haired man could start again, she thought she stand up for her fellow gender. "You know, you could have been a little nicer to her…"

She was met with lavender eyes and he just rolled those beautiful colored eyes, "Look, she's like the eighth girl in the last 2 days I have been here to have asked me out. Excuse me, for getting a little annoyed. I would like to see you try to not be irritated by that."

Yuuki widened her eyes. The eighth girl? Damn, Yori wasn't the only one it seemed to be hypnotized by this guy. She had to admit, she got annoyed by one guy asking her out, let alone eight! And it has been over the course of 2 days?

"So why don't you ever say yes to any of them? It would probably be solved if you said yes to someone because that means you are unavailable." Yuuki asked curiously. From her knowledge on guys, he should have said yes to every single one of them. That's all guys wanted was sex, right?

But what she heard was totally not what she was expecting, "Because what good would that do? I don't plan on ever getting serious with anyone so why feed their obvious need to get me as a boyfriend? Love is a wasted emotion anyway."

Yuuki could literally feel her heart stop. A guy thought that? An actual guy, let alone hot even though she hated to admit that, didn't go for girls with one thing in mind. Was this guy really going to make her question everything she always thought she knew about the other gender?

* * *

**Hope you liked! I need to disclaim the quote I used at the beginning. It's not mine. Oh and I saw I never disclaimed the title. It's obviously the title of one of my favorite songs, The Only Exception by Paramore. If you haven't heard… check it out. It's such a beautiful song.**

**Well until next time guys and I promise to be quicker on my updates! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to_ Gingiie666_, _Akihcawas_, _narugirl14_, _Krizteena_, _DofD_, _animeluver3460_, _abiecula_, and _jorie_ for the reviews. Wow, 8 reviews! Thank you guys so much. I'm glad you are enjoying the story. And I hope you are all still with me since it had taken me so long to update! I won't keep you any longer! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_She is the healing and I am the pain.  
She lives in a daydream where I don't belong._

* * *

A week had passed since that little revelation from Zero. Yuuki was honestly shocked beyond belief but changed the subject. She decided to not even try to digest what he said because what the hell did it matter what he thought? So what if he thought differently than any other guy she has ever met? It didn't change anything. He was still his arrogant, annoying self.

Anyway, even though a full week had passed, Yuuki was still having a hard time in Calculus. And even though she hated to admit it, the fault didn't fall on the silver-haired man. The fault befell on Yuuki's fellow gender. Who knew they could be so annoying? Every time it felt like they were getting somewhere, they were interrupted by a group of girls asking him out or trying to get to know him. Couldn't they clearly see that they were doing some work? Yuuki even got into it with one of the popular girls that weren't taking the hint.

After that, rumors started to circulate. Some would say that Zero had done the impossible and seduced the Ice Queen. And then others said Yuuki was blackmailing the transfer student. She had a feeling as to where that one came from. She just tried to ignore them except she always felt everyone was whispering about them.

So now Yuuki was eating in the lunchroom, with Yori as usual. Luckily, her blonde friend didn't have the courage to ask Zero out or anything. She didn't want her friend's feelings hurt and it would put more tension in their already tense tutoring sessions. But anyway, Yori had been good about not really talking about Zero all that much and for that she was grateful.

"So did you hear the latest rumor?" Yori asked, amused.

Yuuki rolled her eyes, "No, and I don't really care, Yori. They are all not true and get completely ridiculous by the day."

Her best friend giggled. "But that's the best part about them. They are so false and completely blown out of proportion that you just have to laugh."

She did have a point. Some would take offense to them but Yuuki didn't really have a lot of friends because of her inability to trust people. Yori was the only exception because they have known each other since preschool. So she really didn't care what people, at this school, thought of her. So she smiled and asked, "Ok, what's the latest on the Yuuki and Zero scandal?"

"Apparently, you slipped me some sort of drug because why else would I be talking to you?" A voice came from behind the two girls.

Yuuki already knew who it was and slowly turned towards Zero. Yori, not knowing the voice, whipped her head around but then quickly looked away shyly. The brunette looked up at his face and replied, "Seriously? Why is it always me? You could have been the one that wanted to talk to me so badly that you had to resort to desperate measures."

Zero scoffed, "Yeah, like that would ever happen… people here just need to mind their own business."

Yuuki smiled to herself. He was clearly in a very grumpy mood because he wasn't going out of his way to make her mad. So what better way to get back at him then to worsen said mood? "So what's got your panties in a twist? Did you get a B on the Chemistry pop quiz? Because I got a 100 on mine might I add?"

Smirking, he replied, "Well I hate to burst your bubble but I got a 102 because I corrected a mistake in one of the questions the teacher made."

Yuuki's eyes narrowed and didn't say anything. He really knew how to piss her off. _'Why did he have to be so god damn smart?' _she thought angrily. "Well whatever. What made you come and decide to bother me?"

Zero suddenly got serious again which was weird. He usually stayed in that annoying mood for awhile. "Well I came here to tell you that I'm leaving right after lunch so I won't be able to tutor you in study hall today."

Finally, Yuuki noticed, Yori got the courage to look at Zero. Sure, she still had that dreamy look in her eyes but it was so subtle that no one else could have noticed. But then Yuuki processed what the silver-haired man said. "Wait! You can't! We have that Calculus quiz tomorrow that I'm nowhere near ready for and I can't fail anymore of them!"

Zero shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Look, there is no way I can get out of the plans I have for today. Looks like you will just have to try on your own."

Yuuki knew what they could do. But no way in hell did she want to do it. But what other choice did she have? "Well… there's… uhh you could come over to my place after school."

Simultaneously, Yori and Zero's eyes went wide, especially Yori's. She knew how rare this truly was. Her best friend never ever asked anyone to go to her house, let alone a boy. This definitely showed how desperate Yuuki was to passing Calculus.

Zero was in a little bit of shock at first. Because over the week that he spent with the brunette, he got the feeling that she didn't trust others easily. And like him, she didn't like weakness. Bringing someone over to the place where you eat and sleep at is showing vulnerability; a weakness. He looked down at Yuuki who was looking anywhere but at him. He found this interesting. A spitfire like her was being all nervous about asking him over.

He smiled lightly, "Well you are in luck. It's my day off of work so I guess I can come over."

Yuuki looked up at him. She was hoping when she asked him that he didn't think she liked him or anything like that. But looking back at him, she clearly saw that he understood why she was so nervous about asking. And that confused her a bit. But she replied, "Well good. Just a second and I will write you out directions."

"No, I'll just come back to school a little after the last bell and I will follow you."

Yuuki nodded, "Ok, I will wait outside by the parking lot."

Zero nodded and then went on his way up to the cafeteria doors because the bell was just about to ring. After he left, Yuuki knew Yori was going to jump her with questions. She was wrong. The blonde was just looking at her, wide-eyed. "Yori, I didn't have a choice. So stop looking at me like that."

Yori shook her head, "Sorry, it's just not normal. I mean you haven't had anyone over besides me in like forever. And this is the first boy ever to be able to see your house."

"I know, I know. But I'm nowhere near ready for that quiz tomorrow and we don't have to deal with all the girls that seem to crowd around him all the time. That means we might actually get it done. No wonder he thinks girls are annoying."

"He does?" Yori asked.

Yuuki looked over at her and instantly wished she hadn't said anything. She forgot about the blonde's obsession with the lavender eyed man. "Forget I said anything. What does he know?"

Yori gave her a small smile and after the bell rang, the girls separated and went to their separate classes. Yuuki, all the while wondering, what she got herself into.

* * *

Zero really wondered what this was all about. His social worker called him in to her office stating that she had something real important to talk about. Since he was already the age of eighteen, he thought he didn't have to deal with her anymore. He didn't particularly like her. She just seemed too nosy and always scolded him about being bounced around the foster homes. So walking in to her office room, he felt like he was 6 again which instantly put him in an irritated mood.

As soon as he walked in, the studious social worker looked up and smiled. Zero inwardly winced. "Hello Zero, how are you doing?"

"Fine." He replied shortly. He wanted this visit to hurry and be over with.

Her smile grew, "Well good, why don't you have a seat and I will tell you what I brought you here for."

He remained standing, crossing his arms. "Look, I got something to do right after so I want to make this quick."

"Alright then, grumpy as always," her smile diminished just a little. She was never the caring type, just nosy. And that is why Zero did not want to prolong this visit anymore that was needed. She already kept him waiting 45 minutes past the appointed time. "I have come to tell you that your grandfather has requested that you attend dinner at his private home."

Zero felt numb. "Wait a minute… I have a grandfather? I was told that I don't have any other family."

"Well we were under the impression that you had no family either. But apparently, it seems that your grandfather wouldn't provide a home for you at the time and your case worker at the time of the incident didn't have the heart to tell you that he wouldn't take you in."

She got up from her chair and made her way over to the filing cabinet to get out his file. Zero was a little disturbed at the thought that his only grandfather wouldn't take in a 6 year old child. So he got angry, "So what's the selfish prick's excuse for wanting to see me now?"

The woman made her way back to her desk, opening his file before saying, "It seems he has become terminally ill, pancreatic cancer it says, and has requested to see you."

The silver-haired man simply let it all try to sink in. Feeling everything seeming to close in on him, he quickly said, "Tell him he can stuff it. I have been fine on my own and I certainly don't have any need to clear his guilty conscience."

So without another word, he walked out of the social worker's room and went on his way. He felt it all coming back, the pain of knowing that there was no one in this world that loved him. No one wanted him. And now it was confirmed. He had a grandfather that couldn't take in his frightened 6 year old grandson. Let the bastard burn in hell for all he cared.

Zero made his way back to his car and while driving back on his way home, he decided that he was not going to let this rattle him. He would go home and make sure to repress all the emotions that were bubbling back up to the surface. Then he would sleep it all away. And when he got to his apartment room and saw the Calculus book lying on the kitchen counter, a pretty brunette's face flashed through his mind. _'Yuuki' _he thought. He almost forgot. Well he couldn't back out of helping her. He had said that he would come on over to help her with her work and he would not let this unexpected news make him go back on his word.

So he hurried to change and made his way back to the high school.

* * *

Yuuki was on her way out off the school. She already waved to Yori and was trying to find her car keys and it was proving to be difficult. Why did she get such a big bag? After pushing through the doors and finally finding her keys, Yuuki looked and saw Zero leaning up against one of the poles. He was dressed out of the school uniform so he had on a gray buttoned shirt with a tan trench coat over that and black jeans. And those jeans truly showed how long his legs were. The brunette was actually a little confused as to why that made her stomach flip-flop. _'It must have been that lasagna I ate for lunch. I know better than to eat cafeteria food.' _

Yuuki grumbled a hello when she shook that flip flop feeling in her stomach. Zero looked over and pushed himself off the pole and she took that as a sign that he was ready to go. They walked side by side out to the parking lot. "Hey, I'm over there so just follow my lead."

He nodded and went over to his car which was located at the end of the row. The brunette watched him, curiously. Used to hearing his taunting remarks and condescending attitude, she was puzzled over him not saying a word. Here she was worrying all the rest of the day because this was different. Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.

They made it to her house without any problems. She noticed that her mom wasn't home yet but concluded that she must be working overtime. That would mean that she would be bringing home dinner rather than cooking. They both walked up the stairs to the first floor and Yuuki took a deep breath before opening the apartment door.

Once getting in the apartment, Yuuki said, "Hey, I'm going to go in my room and change out of my uniform. Feel free to go on in the living room. I will be out in a sec."

Zero nodded and after she left, he took a quick look around while making his way into the living room. Sure the apartment was small but his was smaller. And it surely looked a lot homier than his. On one side of the living room, there was a worn out couch and small outdated television. On the other side there was a desk with a computer sitting on it. And then on the third wall, there was a bookshelf over stuffed with books. The walls were filled with pictures, mostly of what looked like a young Yuuki. And in one picture there was an older woman he presumed to be her mother, hugging her and smiling. The woman was smiling so big that he felt his heart soften. She looked like she truly loved the little girl in her arms.

"Excuse me but who the hell are you?"

Zero quickly whipped his head around and saw a woman staring back at him. He had to blink a couple times making sure it wasn't Yuuki. Her and her mother surely did look like they could be twins despite the hardened lines of age. Before he had the chance to answer, luckily Yuuki made her way out of her room.

"Mom, what are you doing home early? I thought you were working late?" She asked, stepping in the living room.

"Yuuki! Don't go in there! There's a suspicious-looking young man standing in the middle of our living room!" Juri ran to her daughter and stepped in front of her.

"No, no mom. It's okay. He goes to my school." Yuuki quickly corrected her. "He's also the one that is helping me on my Calculus."

The older brunette put a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Well that's good then. I would appreciate it, Yuuki if you would warn me and say we have company over."

"Sorry mom, it was a last minute type of thing."

Juri quickly waved it off, "That's quite alright, Yuuki." Then she turned to the 'suspicious-looking' boy. "Please excuse me for being rude."

Zero smiled and nodded, "It's fine. I think I would have been more worried if you just accepted a strange man would be in your living room."

"Well yes I would be too… Yuuki, would you mind introducing us?"

Said girl nodded and turned to Zero, "Mom, this is Zero Kiryuu. Zero, this is my mom, Juri Cross."

They shook hands, "I'm glad you are tutoring my daughter, Zero. She really needs all the helps she can get when it comes to math." The woman said with a wink.

"Hey, you know I resent that, Mom. I'm not that hopeless." Yuuki huffed.

Zero's eyes softened at the two. He could tell their relationship was a close one. "Oh trust me; you are right in every way, Ms. Cross. I think I have my work cut out for me with this one."

The younger of the two shot him a glare and grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Don't be fooled by his good looks, Mom. He is just an annoying, arrogant know-it-all."

"Oh, so you admit that I'm good looking?" He smirked.

He could see her cheeks were getting a red tint to them. Did he actually make this girl blush? Yuuki's mother laughed, "He got you there, hun."

"Whatever…" Yuuki quickly turned to her mother, "Anyway, like I asked before, why are you home so early? I thought you were working late tonight."

"Oh no, my late day is tomorrow. So when I got home, I went out to the grocery store because I realized we had no food in this house." Juri explained. "But since we actually have a guest over, I'm glad I decided to do it."

Zero's hand went up, "Honestly, you don't need to make me anything. I wouldn't want to intrude."

The brunette woman instantly waved this off. "Nonsense, I insist. It's been awhile since we have had any company over."

So without another word, Zero lightly smiled and nodded in defeat. Then she turned to her daughter, "Well Yuuki, why don't you and Zero then go on ahead and start on your tutoring while I make us all some dinner?"

Yuuki nodded, "Ok Mom." Then she turned to the lavender-eyed man. "Come on, it will be easier if we just go and study in my room."

She led Zero down the hall and then came to the first room on their left. She opened it and ushered him inside. "Oh! And Yuuki, make sure to keep your door open! I want to make sure studying is all that you are going to do in there!" Her mother's voice said, teasingly.

Zero saw Yuuki's face instantly go red, clear way to her ears. "Moooomm!"

Yuuki had never been this embarrassed in her whole entire life. Why she was? She couldn't tell you. But as soon as she saw Zero chuckling, her eyes narrowed and she huffed, "Not another word out of you unless it has something to do with Calculus." Yuuki's mom surely knew just what to say to embarrass the hell out of her.

**A/N: I know it's been forever since I updated. There is no excuse really. So I'm going to be honest and say the updates will probably be sporadic since my inspiration seems to be gone. The recent Manga chapter inspired me even though I think Zero deserves better than Yuuki. I really hate her character now but I hate Kaname even more so I'm so glad he hasn't been in recent chapters. He must have been the inspiration stopper lol**

**The quote at the beginning is from 'She is the Sunlight' by Trading Yesterday. Beautiful song! Check it out if you haven't heard it!**

**Anyway I hoped you liked and review telling me what you thought!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to _Akihcawas_, _gotaluvpenguins_, _Soul's Anima_,_ abiecula_, _KuroHimeVocaloidLover_, and _Vampgal212_. Wow 7 reviews! Really guys, thanks so much. I got so much encouragement in your reviews that I just couldn't stop writing. So thank you so much. It truly humbles me. I hope I don't disappoint!**

**So enjoy my gift to you, another chapter! And it's longer than my others so I hope you like!**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

_I know you get me  
So I let my walls come down  
-__**Teenage**__**Dream**__-Katy Perry_

* * *

"This is the same answer you gave me last time."

Yuuki let out a frustrated growl. How in the hell wasn't she getting it? They have been at this problem for at least a half hour and she was usually quick when Zero fully explained it. How she hated complicated word problems. "I know, I know. Can you show me the formula again? And substitute in the appropriate numbers. I swear I will get it this time."

Zero sighed. The brunette knew he was impatient. After spending a week with him, she picked up on his habits. Knowing he was annoyed, he nodded and took the pencil. He rewrote the formula and explained everything he was doing. He had a great way of explaining things so Yuuki saw what her problem was.

So after he finished explaining, Yuuki set to work. After finally finishing and felt that she finally understood it, she put down her pencil. She snuck a glance over at the unusually quiet Zero. He was reading a book that was due to have a book report done on in English class. She gave him the once over and noticed he had a strange tattoo on the left side of his neck. How did she miss that? She also failed to notice his pierced ears. _'No wonder girls seemed to swoon. He's so different from everyone else.' _

"So did you finish?" Yuuki quickly shook those thoughts from her head. What was she thinking? God, she could punch herself for that.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got it. If I don't, I swear I'm going to scream." Zero put his book down on the desk and swiped the notebook from her reach. Skimming it over quickly, he set the notebook back down.

He looked at her then patted her head, "Very good, Student. Looks like you are finally ready for the quiz tomorrow."

She noticed him having a hint of a smirk on his face. She felt so accomplished and proud of herself, she replied back, "I couldn't have done it without the help of my teacher!" Then realizing what she said, she quickly stated, "I mean I knew it. I just uhh felt the need to test you."

Zero smirked openly and just shook his head. Finally, the two heard Juri calling them for dinner. As they were getting up, Yuuki whispered to him quickly, "I'm going to warn you now… My mom isn't the best cook in the world and likes to experiment with ingredients so just be nice about it, ok?"

Zero nodded so they both headed out to the kitchen. It was actually already 7 so he could only imagine what was going on in there. Following her into the kitchen, Juri looked up at the two. "I'm sorry it took so long. I decided to make a casserole so I hope you like chicken casserole, Zero."

Taking his seat at the table, the man replied, "I'm sure whatever you made will be fine."

They ate in silence but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. The older brunette broke the silence after everyone was all finishing with their plates. "How do you like it, Zero?"

"It's very good so thank you." Zero stated truthfully. He couldn't really remember when he last had a more complex meal. Since he lived by himself, he didn't feel the need to make big meals.

"That's good." Juri smiled kindly at him. But then turned to her daughter, "So Yuuki, how did the studying go?"

"Good, Zero said I should be ok for the Calculus quiz tomorrow." Yuuki smiled at her mother. "So hopefully I can ace it so that my grade will go up in that class."

"Good, I know you want to get in a good college, Yuuki. So you're going to have to work hard at it. Because college isn't cheap and—"

"I know, mom. I need to get a couple scholarships and such." Her daughter finished for her. She already heard the speech before. That's why she was stressing getting this good grade. Her mom didn't have the money to send her to a really expensive school so she had to work hard to make sure she could get a few scholarships.

Juri's attention went over to the silver-haired man. "So Zero, where did you transfer from?"

Zero returned the older woman's gaze. He really didn't want to get into this but this was how usual parents were. He didn't blame Yuuki's mother. So he tried to give her a vague answer since he refused to let anyone know about his past. "I'm from out west actually."

"Oh, so did your mom or dad get a new job out here or something? I mean it is your senior year of high school."

Zero looked past the woman but it did still look like he was looking at her. He closed his eyes but then reopened them. So it did take him a second to answer, "Actually, I live on my own."

Yuuki whipped her gaze over to Zero. Juri continued, "Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. Please forgive me for being rude."

He sighed but then smiled, lightly. "It's fine. The situation is just complicated. It's not really worth mentioning."

Yuuki was still looking at him. While he said this, he got a faraway look in his eyes. His smile did not reach his eyes and for a split second, he looked lonely. Her eyes softened. For some reason, she had an urge to wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything was ok. _'What made someone who seemed so confident and strong get this very lonely look about him?' _

Juri nodded, "Well it's getting late. Zero, why don't you head on home? You two have school in the morning."

Zero nodded and got up to put his plate in the sink. Then he went into Yuuki's room to retrieve his book and proceeded to go to the front door to get his coat. Just as he was about to leave, Juri yelled, "Oh and Zero, you are welcome back anytime."

He saw that she had popped her head out from the kitchen to tell him this. He smiled genuinely and said, "Thanks, Ms. Cross."

Then out the front door he went. He walked down the stairs and about to go out of the apartment building when he heard, "Zero!"

He turned to see Yuuki, bounding down the stairs after him. Wondering what he could have possibly forgot, he waited for her.

Yuuki really didn't know why she was down here after him. Usually she really didn't care when it came to the new transfer student. But that second of vulnerability he had unconsciously shown to her, it changed something in her attitude against him. She realized that he was a person too with a mysterious painful past.

She finally caught up to him. Catching her breath and looking at him straight in the face, she weirdly got nervous. She started fiddling with her long-sleeved shirt. "Umm I just wanted to say thank you for helping me. I mean going out of your way to make sure I was ok with the quiz tomorrow."

Zero was surely taken aback. This wasn't like the normal Yuuki at all. And for a moment, he almost smiled at her. But instead, he smirked, "Of course, I have to make sure my student does well. How do you think that would make me look?"

Yuuki rolled her eyes, "Hey, I bet I will ace that quiz just so I can rub your face in it."

"Do it. I bet you can't at least get a 90 percent on it."

"Oh, you're on!" Yuuki declared. But as she was going up the stairs, she turned to say, "Hey Zero, you can come back anytime. I like this better since we don't have anyone interrupting. I actually learn it better."

He nodded, "You're right. On the days I don't have to work, I could come on over and help you out more."

Yuuki smiled… wait scratch that, grinned at him. "That sounds great! So I will see you in 1st period tomorrow!"

Zero stared after her retreating back. She was bounding back up the stairs at full force. _'It's almost like—' _Zero smirked at the thought. The brunette, Yuuki Cross, was truly turning out to be an interesting girl. He stared off into space before regaining his composure and heading out to his car.

**2 Weeks Later**

It was that time of the year again. Yuuki always hated this week. And of course, Mr. Shinji had to pick this week to make sure everyone was getting ready for his big exam next week. But do you want to know why the brunette hated this particular week so much? It was the week everyone was getting ready for HOMECOMING, in particular the HOMECOMING DANCE! She hated school dances.

She went to maybe one in her entire life. That was her freshmen year and she couldn't really explain why she thought it was a good idea to go. I guess it was because Yori always raved about them. Well yeah, she should have known better. She and her blonde best friend were polar opposites. Nothing in particularly bad happened at the dance. She went dateless, of course. It was just a big waste of time where she could have spent that time studying. So yeah, never again.

But she hated the week before Homecoming much more than the actual week of it. It was because of the disgusting opposite gender. Every year, guys seemed to think that she had changed her mind about dances so they would always ask her. She wished that they would take the hint and realize that she was never going to go. Her school work was more important than any dance.

Anyway, it had been a weird kind of week this time around. It was Wednesday and oddly enough, she hadn't gotten one single invite. Not to be conceited or anything, but she usually got 2 or 3 by now. She wasn't complaining mind you, just strange. _'Hmph, maybe they finally got the hint.' _

At lunch, she decided to voice her thoughts to Yori. "Maybe they just got tired of being rejected. That does hurt, you know?"

Yuuki shrugged, "It probably does. But it's the same guys over and over again. I just can't feel sorry for them anymore after the 2nd time I told them no."

"Maybe it's because your looks are going downhill."

Yuuki growled, "I don't recall asking for your input, oh-so-great-one."

Yori and Yuuki looked up to see Zero, seating himself beside her. This had become a frequent thing. It was so frequent; Yori had become more at ease with him around. Sure, she was still more quiet than normal but after Yuuki said something about it being noticeable, she became more outspoken around him.

Anyway, Zero started to sit with them about a couple of days after he had first gone to Yuuki's house. They had run into each other in the hall right before lunch and bickered the whole way until they reached the two girls' table. He was about to walk on over to his until the brunette said, "What? You're just going to sit over there? What are you? An antisocial freak?" Zero put in his own input after that one, but ever since then; the lavender-eyed man became a constant presence at the table.

Back to the present, Zero shot Yuuki an amused look, "Whenever have you asked for my opinion? You know I just love to freely give it to you."

She grumbled whatever and started to take out her packed lunch. Yori quickly got up, "Hey Yuuki, I'm buying today. Do you want me to buy you anything?"

"Nah, I'm alright. Just see if you can snag an extra big cookie. The food may suck but they make some awesome cookies."

The blonde nodded and took off to the kitchen. Zero smirked, "Are you sure you need it?"

Yuuki gasped, "Now I know you just didn't insinuate that I am fat."

"Take it any way you want."

She scoffed, "Jerk, you never tell something like that to a girl." She started to unpack the rest of her lunch when she suddenly broke the silence, "And I know you're thinking it doesn't matter since she isn't a real girl."

Zero decided not to dissect that statement. It seemed scary that this girl could actually know what he was thinking after only knowing him for such a short time. He didn't like to think he was easy to read. So instead of retorting back, he decided to remain as stoic as ever. After he heard something plop right in front of him, he looked down to see a plastic-wrapped sandwich. Not really understanding how it got there in the first place, he looked from the sandwich to the brunette, sitting beside him.

She was deliberately avoiding his gaze and made sure to have it concentrate on her own sandwich. After a minute of processing that the sandwich was meant for him, he asked, "What's this for?"

Without looking at him, she replied, "It's a turkey and cheese sandwich, isn't it? You're supposed to eat it."

This was when Yori had made her way back from the lunch line and settling on the seat next to Yuuki. "Here, I got you a cookie. I didn't have to pay anything for it so don't worry about it." When she looked up, she instantly sensed major tension going on between the two of them. Then she saw that Zero had a sandwich sitting in front of him, which was odd since he never ate lunch. She looked at her best friend who was being very quiet for once. And did she see some color on Yuuki's cheeks? Did Yuuki actually take the time to make him something for lunch!

"I know what you are supposed to do with it. The question is why are you giving me a sandwich?"

Yuuki finally looked up from her lunch and returned his gaze, "Look, I might have accidentally let it slip to my mom that you never eat lunch. I don't know how exactly it got brought up. It was after I told her that you never had homework because you do it all at lunch. So then she asked how you could find the time to eat. So I said you didn't and well you can guess what she said after that."

Zero surely did. He had spent a lot of time over at Yuuki's over the course of 2 weeks. He would never admit it out loud but he really liked spending time over there. Juri Cross was genuinely a kind, gentle person who had major maternal instincts. But still, he didn't like the thought of being pitied for being the orphan. He pushed the sandwich back to the brunette. "I don't need charity, Yuuki."

Yuuki saw that look again. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him. His eyes got that lonely, faraway look and his shoulders tensed up. Her eyes softened and she got that strange urge again. The urge to want to protect him from whatever got him so rattled. "Just take it, Zero. My mom made it herself… so if you don't eat it, I'll tell her you threw it out because it tasted bad."

Zero glared at her, "You wouldn't."

She smirked, knowing she had won. "Try me. But you know what that will do. You will make my poor mother cry."

Those were the magic words. Zero snatched the sandwich up and unwrapped it to take a bite. Yuuki just had to giggle. She knew Zero had a soft spot for her mother. I mean, everyone did.

Meanwhile, Yori just couldn't believe her eyes. Yuuki and Zero have only known each other for 3 weeks and on the surface, it looked like they hated each other. But in reality, she saw a friendship blossoming between them. I mean, her best friend actually being friends with the hot, unattainable transfer student who was a man by the way. She had to smile for her best friend. Was Zero actually breaking down the steely built walls Yuuki built around herself? And in the course of only 3 weeks? Could he really be the one that could get Yuuki to come out that hardened shell?

"Well you really can't afford to eat two whole sandwiches."

"There you go again with the fat jokes." Yuuki scowled again at him. The blonde rolled her eyes and laughed at their ridiculous bantering. They really didn't know how alike they really are.

After lunch, they all went their separate ways. The brunette girl was still grumbling about a particular man when she came to her locker. As soon as she put in her combination and opened the door just a little, it was slammed shut by a body. She went to yell at whoever just did that but stopped when she saw it was Hanabusa Aidou. What in the hell would the popular playboy want with her. She never had an actual conversation with him before.

"Hello… Yuuki, isn't it?" He greeted with a flirty smile on his face.

Yuuki had to force down the bile that was rising in her throat. She didn't like this guy at all. He was the typical playboy that has probably had every girl falling at his feet. And he relished in the admiration. And yes, he did play with Yori's heart. So of course, she instantly hated him. "Uh yeah… look, could you move? I need to get into my locker."

She saw his smile tighten. Well, she wasn't going to turn into a bumbling idiot just because he was talking to her like so many that probably did before her. But he moved out of the way so Yuuki proceeded to get into her locker and put her morning class books away. All the while, Aidou just stood there. So she asked, "Um, do you need something?"

"No, not really." He replied with a shake of the head. "I was actually just going to ask you about the dance. What are your plans for it?

Yuuki rolled her eyes, "As if it's any of your business, I don't have any. I'm not going."

"Not going?" He looked honestly shocked. But then smiled, "Oh, I think that will change."

The brunette narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Oh? Why do you think that?"

The blonde-haired playboy grinned widely, "Well, my best friend, Kaname Kuran, yes the Kaname Kuran, has decided he wants to take you to the dance."

She blinked for a moment but then smirked, "Convince him otherwise. I decline his offer."

"I'm sorry, did I hear correctly? You did not just reject our class president's offer. I mean he has never asked anyone to the dance before."

She scoffed, "Ok, but that still doesn't change anything. I still don't want to go to the stupid dance, let alone with the arrogant class president who can't even have the balls to ask me himself."

She went to walk away after slamming the locker door shut. But she was grabbed by the arm and pulled back with her back against the lockers. Aidou had grabbed her wrist and was squeezing it very tightly. She tried to use her other hand to try to make him drop it but he grabbed her other wrist to prevent that. She winced a little from the pressure and looked up to see he was visibly angry. "You dare to call president Kuran arrogant? And to refuse this most gracious offer without hesitation? Listen here, I couldn't believe he had wanted to ask someone like you. Sure, you may be hot and all, but you are just a frigid bitch who thinks she's better than us all."

She tried to rip her wrists away from him. She even tried to knee him where the sun don't shine but he swiftly maneuvered himself away from her so she couldn't. The pressure was so great that it was really starting to hurt. He tightened his hold even further. They were in a now deserted hallway since everyone was in class now. "But I know for sure it's all just an act. You make gaga eyes all over that transfer student so much its sickening. He must be that good in the sack, eh?"

She didn't like this. Being rendered helpless and not being able to do anything. She was scared for the first time in a long time. So just when she was about to scream, a hand closed around Aidou's wrist, squeezing so much that he almost instantly let go. Yuuki quickly stepped away and rubbed her reddened wrists. She looked to see that her savior was Zero.

He was still holding Aidou's wrist, squeezing so much it looked like Aidou's hand was turning bluish. He was also glaring furiously at the blonde.

"Let go of my wrist." Aidou ordered. But she could tell that he was intimidated by Zero.

"What, can't take it? Maybe you shouldn't be doing the same thing to a girl." Zero stated, angrily.

But after another harsh squeeze, Zero let go. Aidou instantly started walking away, "Whatever. We were just talking."

Yuuki's gaze was still on Zero. He closed his but then hurriedly reopened to look over at the brunette. "Are you alright?" His voice was laced with concern.

She could only nod. She really thought Aidou was going to hurt her more. She bent her head down a little trying to regain her strong composure. Zero didn't know what to do or say but he didn't miss the escaped sigh of relief, knowing that she was safe and okay. Yuuki's head was down and he reached out a little but then stopped. What was he doing? Was he actually really concerned for this girl? So instead of saying anything, he ruffled her hair a little and started to walk past her.

Yuuki was taking a little longer to relax then she thought. She didn't know what Zero was doing. He was probably just staring at her weirdly. But then she felt a light touch on her head and instantly her heart started to beat faster. The touch was gone after a few seconds and she looked up to see him walking past her. She went to immediately go walk beside him. Somehow after that, she didn't feel scared anymore. It instantly melted away with his small, comforting gesture.

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**A/N: Hey hoped you enjoyed the chapter. I'm going to say now that I have nothing against the Aidou in the manga. I actually like that he has a weird man crush on Kaname and is a funny character. So I apologize if you didn't like the one I had in the story. It was needed and I kept his greatest quality… his love for Kaname.**

**Oh and I did want to clear up what I said last time about Kaname. So if you don't want to read about my rant on him don't read on lol. I don't question that he really does love Yuuki. That's just about the only thing I like about him. I can't really explain why I have such a dislike towards him. I mean even before I knew who Yuuki chose to be with, I never liked his character. I always thought he was too arrogant and princely and let me tell you I don't like princely characters. And I just always thought Zero deserved Yuuki more… when she was the human Yuuki.**

**The Yuuki character now… well I have started to like her more now since Kaname isn't in the picture at the moment. But I know when he comes back I will hate her again. I just think whenever she is around him, she doesn't have a mind of her own. She thinks whatever he says or does is automatically right when really it isn't.**

**But whatever, I still will read Vampire Knight and hope and pray that Zero gets a happy ending that he truly deserves. END of my rant! Lol review and tell me what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to _Tallulahthewildgirl_, _abiecula_, _WhiteNBlackRoses_, _xXBluefangXx_, _Akihcawas_, _Dai-Light_, _PrincessZeki15_, _Krizteena_, and_ Mrs. RINA_ for the reviews. Wow 9 reviews guys.. what can I say besides that you guys absolutely rock! I really appreciate every review so thank you! Keep it up… I seem to be having a lot of inspiration lately and I think it's because of your guys' encouraging words so thanks! ^-^**

**So enjoy and tell me what you think! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this chapter starts out slow but trust me it's worth it when you get to the end of the chapter because.. well you will see! lol**

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**Chapter 6**

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_The people who are the hardest love are usually the ones who need it most._

* * *

Another week had passed and it was finally the night before the big, dreaded Calculus exam. Yuuki couldn't believe that this was it. This was the one thing that had been on her mind for weeks and what she studied her hardest at. She had to pass it. That's why; Zero was currently sitting right beside her, looking over her answers to his makeup test questions. They were in Yuuki's room, hunched over her desk. She was confident about her answers but still held her breath while Zero looked over her work.

Finally, he sat back and didn't say anything at first. The brunette let out a defeated sigh. Great, she was truly hopeless. But then the light-haired man reached out and patted her head. She shifted her gaze to look over at him. "Good job, student. Not a single answer wrong?"

"Really?"

He nodded, "Yep. You are ready for the test tomorrow."

Yuuki was ecstatic! Her eyes lit up and she smiled so openly. She jumped from her chair, twirled around in a circle, and said, "Yes! I totally just kicked Calculus' ass! I'm going to get into a good college with no worries! I can't wait to tell mom!"

Then what happened next was something completely unexplainable. Yuuki bent down and gave Zero a big hug. She was just so caught up in her excitement and didn't really think it through. Then a moment later, she came to her senses. Blushing madly and pulling back to stand up right again, she said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

Zero couldn't believe that he didn't pull away instantly. It was even Yuuki that let go and him not even pushing away. He didn't like people in his personal space and most certainly avoided any kind of physical contact. So then why did he catch himself wanting to hug her back? What the hell was wrong with him? They just looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Zero averted her gaze. "It's fine."

Yuuki fought down her blush and hurried to say, "Well I guess my mom is bringing home some dinner. Pizza ok?"

Zero shook his head, "I think I'm just going to go. You seem like you are ready for tomorrow."

"Zero… you know my mom won't let you leave this house without eating. And you have been over enough to know what she will do. So you might as well shut up and stay put."

He grumbled an ok. It's not like he hated eating dinner with Yuuki and her mom. He was just the type that if he ever received what he considered pity or charity, it made him uncomfortable and irritated. Even though he knew they were just being kind. Never in his life, since the tragedy, had someone been so kind to him. He almost felt bad that this would be the last time he would be over here. Knowing once Yuuki got the hang of Calculus, they would stop spending extra time together. And he was used to people coming in and out of his life. So it didn't bother him… as much.

"Well come on, let's go out to the living room and watch TV or something until my mom gets back." Yuuki offered.

Zero looked at her, confused. "You don't want to study more? I'm not going to be the one to blame if you don't pass."

She rolled her wide, cinnamon eyes. "I know. And no… if I study anymore, my head is going to explode. I have been studying for almost a month, consistently. I will be alright."

They headed into the living room and sat over on the couch. Yuuki grabbed the remote to switch the television on. After doing so, she turned to the male sitting beside her. "You know, even though I seem to be a perfectionist, I know how to relax and have fun… when it doesn't interfere with school."

Zero smirked and crossed his arms. "I find that hard to believe. You're as stubborn as a mule and likes to have everything done in a certain way. And then you bitch and complain if something isn't right. Forgive me for not believing that you can be the life of a party."

Yuuki leaned back against the back of the couch. She smirked back, "Ok, how about you? You have a stick shoved so far up your ass; if you open your mouth I can probably see it. So I can't see you having fun at anytime."

Zero just stared back at her, still smirking. She pulled her knees up to her chest, rested her elbow on one knee, and returned the look. "So tell me, Zero. How do you have fun?"

This was a game. One that now he didn't want to play. Because that would mean revealing something about himself, which of course made a wall instantly go up. So he said, "That's for me to know and for you to never find out."

Yuuki instantly sensed a tension coming from him. Sure, they always bickered back and forth, but the air of lightness instantly went away. she knew she hit something she shouldn't have. But instead of just letting it go, she asked, "Zero, you do have fun right? Well obviously not at this stupid school, but you had friends where you moved from so you had to do something."

He knew she wasn't going to drop it. Somehow, they grew comfortable with each other. It wasn't quite a friendship. It was more like the familiarity of themselves because they spent so much time together. It wasn't like it was when he first started tutoring her. So he didn't know if that was why he suddenly felt like actually telling her a little bit about himself. Something that's never happened before. So he just broke her eye contact and said, "I moved around a lot so I never really had what you consider friends. It wasn't worth getting upset over every time I had to go to a different place."

Yuuki saw that look again; the one he always tried to hide. And then came the urge to protect him. He really was one mysterious, complicated guy. Her eyes softened while she still looked at him. "Well that's going to change."

He looked back at her, suspiciously. She gave a small smile. "What are you doing on Saturday?"

"Why, dare I ask?"

"Yori is having a party at her house. It's like an anti-school dance party. She has one every year since I refuse to go to school dances. They are actually kind of fun, I have to admit. You should come." Yuuki explained.

Zero narrowed his eyes. "I don't do parties."

She rolled her eyes, playfully. She knew he would say that. "Oh come on, live a little Zero. There's more to life than just work and academics. Even though I would like to believe that, I have a best friend that doesn't let me."

He could feel his resolve breaking. He had never been to anything like that. Let alone, he couldn't believe Yuuki was inviting him out somewhere, strictly in the platonic sense. And he supposed that's why he felt himself letting his guard down around her. She wasn't after him at all and actually making an effort to get him to have a little bit of fun in his life. Where was the Yuuki he met?

"Who are you? And where's the supposed Ice Queen I heard about?"

Yuuki knew he was joking. She just scoffed. "The boys at school started calling me that just because I wouldn't go out with them. Anyway, will you come? Trust me, it's better than it sounds."

"… Fine. If it will make you stop asking questions."

She smiled. And not one of her little smiles, but one of the ones that lit up her eyes and showed why the boys were after her as much as they were. "I promise… but you give me your word?"

This was his turn to roll his eyes. How did he know he was going for that loophole? "Yeah, I give you my word."

She nodded, "Good… I hear my mom in the hallway. Let's go eat."

She hopped off the couch as soon as she heard the door open. Zero couldn't believe she convinced him to go to a party of all things. And he refused to believe that Yuuki was slowly chipping away at his stone made walls he built around himself all those years ago.

* * *

Yuuki did it! She knew that she had aced that exam. Not one question that on it made her panic in any way. Confident about her answers, she actually finished before anyone else… except of course Zero. She finally understood Calculus and was confident that she could get through the year. Even though she hated to admit it, it was all thanks to Zero. Going into this tutoring, she thought it would all turn into a complete disaster. Surprisingly, the transfer student turned out to be not all that bad. She would never say that out loud of course, but she found herself completely comfortable in his company. They weren't quite friends but dare she say, may be in the future.

So that's why she hoped he would come to her best friend's party. Sure she knew almost everyone there, but she felt that it wasn't complete without Zero. She couldn't really understand why she wanted him to come. I mean, he was a guy, who she knew next to nothing about, that didn't see what good things life could bring you. She didn't know his family situation or anything about his past. All she knew was that if it ever came up, a wall would instantly go up. Yuuki wasn't one to pry, especially since she didn't have a fantastic past either. She just wondered if there was anyone that he could rely on. She, herself, knew she couldn't live without Yori. _'Even though, I really have no reason myself to worry.'_

It was Saturday night and already 11 pm so everyone had arrived at Yori's; all except one. Zero had told her yesterday that he had to work so he would be later. So she was expecting him at the latest like 10pm. Honestly, she couldn't tell you why she was so worried about him. He had no obligation to come. But he had given her his word and Zero had never broken that. Plus, she couldn't shake this bad feeling she had been having all day. Something wasn't right.

"Come on, Yuuki. Why don't you come inside and enjoy the party?" Yori stated. Yuuki was sitting out on her friend's front porch, sipping away at lemonade.

"I will in a minute… have you seen Zero yet?"

Her blonde friend smiled, "So that's why you're sitting out here? No, I haven't. I wasn't expecting him to come anyway."

Yuuki looked away from her friend, "He gave me his word that he was coming. He should have been here by now."

The blonde saw that her brunette best friend was actually really worried about Zero. So all joking aside, she went to sit next to her. "Yuuki, don't get mad or anything… but do you like Zero?"

Yuuki whipped her head around to stare at Yori. "It's not like that, Yori. It's more like I care about his well-being. I don't know how to explain it… saying that we are friends would be a lie so I… I don't really know."

Yori knew right then and there she was going to give up her crush on Zero. Seeing that look in her friend's eyes, she knew Yuuki only reserved that look for people she truly cared about. Even though Yuuki didn't know it yet, Zero did the unthinkable. He smashed down the walls Yuuki had around her heart.

Her thought were interrupted by Yuuki letting out a frustrated growl, "Stupid Zero. I shouldn't have to be worrying about his arrogant ass."

Yori giggled. The brunette shot her an icy glare. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. Look, if you're so worried about him, call him."

"He doesn't have a cell phone or I would have done that already."

"Oh… well how about going over to his work? He probably just got caught up at work and he has no way of contacting you."

Yuuki smiled and stood up, "You're right. I'll be back. I'll text you when I know what's going on."

So off she drove over to the restaurant where he worked. It looked like it was closed up for the night since it was all dark inside. She could go to his apartment but he never gave her his address. Defeated, she went to turn her car back on but then she saw a brunette man coming out of the restaurant.

She hurriedly got out of the car. "Um excuse me!"

The man turned to look at the brunette girl, walking towards him. "Um I'm sorry but we are closed for the night miss."

She shook her head, "No, actually I'm here to ask about Zero Kiryuu. He works here, right?"

The man nodded, "Yes, why you asking?"

"Well I was wondering if you know where he is. He was supposed to meet me over an hour ago and I'm getting a little worried."

"I'm sorry, Miss but I have been wondering that myself. You see, he didn't show up for work tonight and that's not like him at all." The man explained.

This stopped Yuuki's thoughts about killing him. No, this wasn't really like him at all. Now her nerves were flaring up even worse. "I'm sorry but do you think you could tell me where he lives?"

"I'm afraid I can't give out that information."

Yuuki couldn't let this go. She knew something wasn't quite right and she had to see him. Just to make sure she was worrying over nothing and she wouldn't rest until she did. So she got closer than normal to the man and batted her eyelashes, feigning interest in him. "Won't you please tell me? I'm just a very concerned friend that just wants to make sure he's alright… do you really think I would do anything?"

The man immediately responded to her flirtations. "Well since you asked me so nicely. He lives just about a block from here at Sunrise Apartments; Apt. 2B."

Men were so easy; it was sickening. But pushing down the bile that rose in her throat, she smiled, "Thanks!" And she took off in her car to find the apartments. In five minutes time, she found it. Taking the elevator up to the second floor, she was starting to rethink herself.

She was desperate to find Zero but she really had no right to come here. He would probably give her the biggest scolding and lecture her about the importance of privacy. But she didn't care. She had to know that he was ok, for the sake of her sanity. She went to knock on the appropriate door but when her knuckle hit the door, it had opened just a crack. Odd. She pushed the door open and nothing could have prepared her for what she had discovered. Zero was sitting on worn out looking couch, on the opposite side of the apartment… with a gun to his head.

Yuuki's mind went blank. She bolted from the doorway, slamming the door shut, and yelled, "No! Don't Zero!"

She tackled him to the couch, knocking the gun away. It landed with a loud thud to the floor. Then Zero, instinctively, rolled over so that Yuuki was trapped underneath him. His hands were at her throat until he looked into those all-too familiar cinnamon colored eyes. A confused look spread over his face.

"Yuuki!" He hurried and removed his hands from her throat. He sat up but didn't lose her gaze. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The brunette was trying to calm down her beating her heart. She really thought he was going to do it. but she had successfully stopped him. She still didn't turn her gaze away from his eyes. They looked so cold… so lifeless. Ignoring his question, she sat up beside him. "Yuuki, how in the hell—"

She couldn't ignore the urge any longer. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled her body flush against his. Burying her head in his shoulder, she said, "It's ok, Zero. I'm here now. I'm here."

At first, he wanted to reject the physical contact but she clung on to him this tightly and repeated, "I'm here." So for a moment, he didn't do anything. His hands were out in front of him and he just looked ahead at the doorway. The last time he had been held like this was when his mother held him when he had gotten pneumonia. Then slowly and cautiously, as if afraid that he would hurt Yuuki, he wrapped his arms around her. First he was very unsure but when he saw that she wasn't going anywhere, he tightened his hold on her. As if starved for contact, he closed his eyes and buried one of his hands in her hair while the other was still around her back.

After an hour of holding on to her tightly and hearing Yuuki's sweet words repeatedly, Zero loosened his hold on her but did not remove it completely. He had slumped to put his head on top of her shoulder and since he had held her so tightly and desperately, she was in his lap. But the two did not pay attention to that fact at all. She tried to subtly put a little distance between them so she could talk to him face-to-face. But he just tightened his hold, not wanting to move away from her. She accepted it and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Silence was Yuuki's answer. So she figured it was ok to finally open up about her past. She let him still have his hold on her which she knew he wasn't moving. And she was ok with that. She took a deep breath, "Have you ever wondered why it's just me and my mom?"

Knowing she wasn't going to get an answer, she continued anyway. She knew that he was listening. "My dad let us when I was 5. I was really close to my dad and always had some of the best times with him. He had always promised that he was going to always be there for me… so when he took off, I was determined to find him, despite what my mom told me. I already knew he had left us for another woman but I didn't care. I wanted my dad back."

She closed her eyes and actually leaned her head lightly against Zero's. She hated talking about her dad. Even though she hated him, it still left a sting every time he was brought up. But knowing that Zero was there and so close to her, seemed to soothe the sting. "I saw him again when I was about 10. I saw him in a random store when I was walking home from school one day. I couldn't muster up the courage to talk to him so I followed him all the way to his house. And just when I plucked it up, a little boy, around my age, ran up to him yelling, "Daddy!" happily. It broke my heart to see my dad smile back at the kid and scooping him up in his arms where I thought were only for me…"

She failed to notice a lone tear escape from her eye, tracing down her face. Her voice started cracking a little but she could do it. She had to show Zero that it was ok to show is weakness. She would accept whatever he had to say. He had to talk about it because he head to realize talking about it was way less painful then keeping it all bottled up inside. "I realized then that I didn't fit into his world anymore. I was so easily thrown away and replaced. Even after that, he never once tried to contact me."

More tears spilled from her eyes. This is why she never talked about it. She always cried when she did and Yuuki hated showing weakness to people. Even 12 years later, it was still hard to talk about. Zero, hearing the pain in her voice, brought his head up to look into her tear-filled eyes. When she tried to look away from his silent, penetrating gaze, she couldn't because she saw his eyes soften and he cupped her cheek to brush away the tears. Her heart started doing somersaults and her stomach had butterflies.

She didn't realize how close his face was until now. She could feel herself blushing, but didn't turn away, knowing that she could break the comfortable atmosphere she was trying to create. "So that's why I don't trust people. I don't let anyone get close at all because I never want to go through that pain again… but Zero… I feel I can trust you. Do you think you can trust me?"

His eyes widened. No one, and I mean no one, throughout these past 12 years, had ever cared enough to try to get to know anything about his hidden past. After seeing Yuuki, who was always sarcastic and strong, break down and cry over her asshole father and his broken promises, he felt his heart warm up to her. He knew he could trust her. He let go of her and leaned away a little to give her space because he had been holding her for so long. She slid off his lap but still was close enough; their knees were touching.

He looked down at his hands that were place on his legs. "I… I had a mother and father who loved each other dearly and my twin brother and I just as much… I was six when I woke up one night to my mother's screams. Little did I know, both my parents were being murdered."

Yuuki's eyes widened like saucers. Who knew someone could go through something that horrific. But she had a feeling it was only going to get worse. "I went to go see what was going on when my brother tried to stop me. I thought I could do something to help when I should have took Ichiru and ran…"

His hands clenched into fists. No one seemed to know nor care that he did feel guilty. He should have done something more. He was so caught up in the memories that he jumped slightly when Yuuki reached out to place her hand on his right clenched fist. He finally looked into her concerned cinnamon eyes. Suddenly, that hand of hers drew him out of the emotions of helplessness and anguish that were threatening to consume him like they always seemed to.

"I woke up in the hospital a few days later. I had been shot but survived miraculously. I couldn't believe that my family was gone… just like that. My heart grew colder and colder as I was bounced from foster home to foster home… until I finally got out of that when I turned 18…" Zero trailed off before taking a breath to continue. "Life is just not worth it. My family was everything to me… what right did I have to laugh and live happily when they were so mercilessly slaughtered…" He was trembling as he tore his eyes from the brunette.

But then Yuuki hurried and enveloped him into her embrace again. Just like their previous position, Zero buried his face in the nape of her neck while holding her tightly. This time, he didn't have any want to reject the physical contact at all. All Yuuki knew is that she wanted to hold him, because then he was safe in her arms. He had such immeasurable strength. His past wasn't anything she could have ever thought of.

She held him to her just as tightly as he was. She gently leaned her head towards his so that her cheek was brushing his silver hair. "Zero, I don't know about a lot of things but I know if I had suddenly lost my mom, I would hope I would know that she would want me to be happy; to be happy and live my life to the fullest. And I'm almost positive your family would want the same thing for you from the way you described them…"

She felt tears sting her eyes. No, she had to push them back… she had to be strong for him. She knew her tears weren't far off but she couldn't help it. Zero was suffering; more than one person was capable of. She wanted to shoulder some of it for him, "Realize that you need to live, Zero. Don't give up. And if you don't think you can do it all by yourself, I'm here to listen. I never want you to think that no one cares about your existence… and I never want you to bottle all that up because it isn't healthy. You shouldn't feel guilty of what this fucked up, cruel world dealt you with. Because in my eyes, after just hearing what you went through, you are the strongest person I know and you have nothing to be ashamed about."

He froze. Silence filled the room, all except for Yuuki's sniffles. She was crying for him. Tears of his own escaped from his eyes as he, after 12 years of holding it in, mourned for the loss of his family. Then very, very slowly he broke and Yuuki never let go of her hold on him…

* * *

**A/N: So did you like? Yay or nay? Lol I hoped you like because this is actually the longest chapter I have written for this story! And I enjoyed writing it. And I wanted to get your guy's opinion on something… when I started writing this story in the beginning, I thought it was going to be shorter story but I just see myself falling in love with the characters all over again. So I'm thinking it's going to be a bit longer than I expected lol. What do you guys think?**

**Well anyway I hoped you enjoyed. I disclaim the quote used in the beginning.. and well I can't think of anything else. Oh! Thanks for all your own opinions about the whole Zero/Kaname/Yuuki thing. Did you guys read the recent chapter? WTF is up with that? Ahhh my hatred for Kaname just got deeper! Lol**

**Anyway, enough of my ranting, hoped you liked and you all should leave me a lovely review telling me what you thought! (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to _TayKinn, abiecula, SailorDarkMoon765, MiidniightSoul, Akihcawas, Schural, Zeroswifey3000, Debbiedoo356, inyuashaxandxkagome, and Haruno Enjeru _for the reviews! Thanks guys so much! I know I haven't updated for awhile, and I'm really sorry! I hope you are all still with me! But thank you for all the wonderful reviews I got! I appreciate every one of them! Anyway, on with Chapter 7!**

**Chapter 7**

"_I lost my faith in my darkest days but she makes me want to believe."_

Zero slowly began to open his eyes as the sunlight from the window woke him up. Where the hell was he? All he knew was that his back was stiffer than ever. Through the haziness of sleep, he drew in a deep breath and realized something smelled of cherry and vanilla. He confusedly looked down to see where the sweet smell was coming from, and noticed the brunette hair of Yuuki Cross. Suddenly, last night's event came back to him. _'We must have fallen asleep.. I don't even remember drifting off actually,' _he thought to himself.

His arm was numb from her using it as a pillow while he noticed that his other arm was wrapped securely around her waist. He was up against the back of the couch while she was on the outer. Their legs were intertwined just at the ankle so nothing too embarrassing. Besides the fast that they were sleeping beside each other. He knew that he should wake her. The man should even be embarrassed at the position they ended up in. But he wasn't and he didn't want to wake her.

She looked so peaceful, sleeping away like she didn't have a care in the world. He caught himself watching her and smiling softly at her little expressions that went across her face. When she would wake from her sleep, he knew that this would end. So that's why he didn't wake her. He wanted to be near her more.

Because for whatever reason, the brunette, in his arms, cared deeply about him. He didn't deserve it but he knew their relationship would be different. And he was ok with that. Maybe it was ok to have a friend. Knowing that he couldn't move without waking her, he settled back down into her warmth and security. And the sound of her slow, even breaths made him drift back to sleep.

Yuuki woke abruptly, shooting up into a somewhat upright position. She did it so quickly she almost fell off the couch. The bad she had, had her shaken up a little and she wanted to know where she was. Then last night's events came back to her and she looked down the see the silver headed Zero, still obliviously asleep. Her nightmare was long forgotten from her mind now. Her cheeks warmed when she realized they had slept next to each other. And he had provided a sense of safety for her.

This was honestly, the first time she had observed a man asleep. He looked even more handsome, if that was even possible, because he didn't have the usual scowl on his face. Taking even breaths, he seemed so peaceful. Almost like what had transpired last night was just an awful nightmare. Yuuki knew better though.

She observed him a little while longer. Reaching out to touch his silver hair, Yuuki held her breath, hoping he wouldn't wake. She ruffled it a bit, taking note of just how soft it was. The brunette also had failed to notice the soft, tender smile that had spread across her lips. If anyone had looked in at this moment, it would look as if it was tender moment being shared by two lovers. Then slowly, Zero unconsciously, stirred a little in his sleep and leaned into her touch.

That's when Yuuki ripped her hand away from him. Luckily, he just settled back down into a deep sleep. _'What the hell was that about? Do I want him to wake up and add even more to the embarrassment of the situation?' _Yuuki thought angrily to herself. Her stomach was doing that weird flip-flop thing again. _'Hmm, maybe I need some food in me.'_

Yuuki looked at the sleeping man once more before deciding that she would need some time to think of an explanation for all of this. She also concluded she would make some breakfast since it seemed like the polite thing to do. Slowly, she untangled their legs, which earned another blush from her. Why did she have to be so easily embarrassed? Especially around Zero when he was even awake? Then somehow she his arm off of her waist as she slid off of the couch quietly. She was pretty pleases with herself that she had done all of that without waking him.

Now on to finding something to make for breakfast. Zero didn't seem like the type to keep up on the groceries. After a few minutes of searching had past, she knew she guessed right. She had a few bucks on her so she went out to find something to eat. Hopefully, the little convenient store she saw when she drove over here had something.

Zero woke up again to find that his arms were empty. He shot in a sitting position and looked around for Yuuki. Then he stopped himself. _'Of course she left as soon as she woke up. She probably had enough of my ass,' _he thought to himself. Fighting down the disappointment, he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. Then he turned his head when he heard his door open to reveal the brunette he was searching for earlier. She was carrying a takeout bag from some restaurant and he fought down a smile.

She looked up after she shut the door and must have realized he was awake because he saw a little blush become apparent on her cheeks. "You finally up and around?"

He just lazily shrugged at her. Smirking over at her, he said, "You and your mother think so much alike. You think anything can be solved with food."

Yuuki just flushed a little more and huffed, "Just shut up and eat it."

Silence fell over the two as they began to eat. It wasn't an awkward, just an easy content atmosphere. After finishing with his first, Zero broke the silence. "Well I think it's about time you head on home. I don't want your mom to worry."

The brunette smiled. She knew that Zero adored her mother and thought it to be cute. Although she would admit that out loud. She still scoffed, "Nah, I think I will spend my time here today. My mom thinks I'm at Yori's anyway. She won't be expecting me for awhile."

"So she doesn't even know you're here?" Zero asked, narrowing his lavender eyes.

"Nope." The brunette ignored the obvious glare he was shooting her way.

"Go home, Yuuki."

"I said I wasn't going anywhere so you might as well no even waste your breath arguing with me." She stubbornly stated. She started cleaning up the trash, but as she was about to walk out of the living room, Zero grabbed her wrist.

"Why are you being so stubborn? I obviously am pushing you to go home. You are relieved of your duties so to speak."

She jerked her hand away from his grasp, "I don't care. I'm not leaving until I know for sure that I'm going to see you in school tomorrow."

That was her roundabout way of saying she was sticking around until he promised that he wasn't going to hurt himself. Rolling his eyes in frustration, he said, "Suit yourself."

Throwing away the garbage in the kitchen, she made sure she didn't look his way. She didn't know what or why she was doing this. All she knew was that she had a feeling that she should stick around. And her feelings never failed her before. She went back in the living room and sat down beside him while Zero just watched her. "Look, quit being a grump. I will leave sometime today; I'm just not sure when. And my mom is not worried, I promise you."

His mood visibly began to lighten a little but he still chose not to speak. He didn't like to think that she took pity on him. After a notable pause, Yuuki shot up out of her seat and said, "Why don't we go for a walk? You know, fresh air does everyone good."

He looked at her, skeptically. But then just shrugged and agreed. "Just let me get changed." Then stood up and went into his bedroom.

Yuuki really had no idea why she pushed herself on him. She knew she was probably coming off as annoying and she never really did this before. But deep down, she felt that he needed this. Something was telling her to not leave him alone today. So that was good enough for her. It was always best to trust your instincts.

Five minutes later, Zero appeared in his bedroom doorway. So without a word, they began their silent walk outside. It was sunny out but there was a slight chill in the air due to it being fall. The brunette kept sneaking glances at her companion. He just looked straight ahead, without saying a word.

They ended up at a little park down his street. Finally, he broke the tension after they were seated by the nearest bench. "Ok Yuuki, what really is all this about?"

Yuuki was about to answer but then stopped when he held up his hand, "And the truth this time."

She stared at him then quickly looked away. She observed children playing in the playground that was provided to try to draw out the answer. Then she let out a sigh, as though she had been holding her breath. "Honestly Zero, I don't know… I just can't shake the feeling that… I just feel like I need to be with you."

He just stared at her. Then thought out loud, "Why?" He paused for a moment then looked away from her, "Why are you trying so hard?"

Yuuki chanced a look up at him. And then she saw that far-away, lonely look he would get in his eyes. That urge to protect him flared up again. And she said, without looking away from him and without hesitation, "Because I'm your friend, Zero."

Just from those words, his once icy heart felt warm. So he felt that he should try to explain himself a little. Still not looking at her, he said, "Look, it was a spur-of-the-moment type of thing. I wasn't thinking rationally…"

"Why did you try to do it?" Yuuki wondered cryptically, "You seemed to be ok the day before… did something happen?"

Zero outwardly smirked but inside he was in disbelief. How could she know him so well? Did she really understand him to this level on after knowing each other for a short time? This thought scared him. But he already knew that from here on, his simple life he always thought he was going to lead was gone. Shaking those thoughts away for now, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

'_I might as well tell her. She knows everything else about me.' _He looked over at the brunette, who was patiently waiting for his answer. "Well it all started that day I left school early. I had a meeting with my social worker. She told me that I had a long lost grandfather who I knew nothing about."

He broke off for a second but then continued, "Anyway, she told me that he was requesting to see me… and I got angry. I mean, why was he coming out in the open all of the sudden? The incident happened over a decade ago… well it turned out he was terminally ill. Pancreatic cancer to be exact."

Yuuki just couldn't beli'I want you to eve it. When Zero finally found out he had a living relative, fate just came and ripped it away. It just simply wasn't fair. She kept quiet though and let him continue. "But I refused to go see him. I was angry that he left me all alone to deal with the trauma. I was only six years old. So I didn't go see what he wanted…"

After this, Zero looked away from her gaze. He knew his eyes were probably betraying him. He didn't want the brunette to see him so pathetic looking. "Yesterday, I got the call that he passed away…"

Yuuki took his hand with both of hers and set it in her lap, never letting go of his hand. She wanted him to know that she was here for him.

He didn't show it on the outside but he truly appreciated the gesture. "I didn't know how to feel really. It just hit me that I really didn't have anyone. And no one would give a crap if I lived or died… and I felt how much of an prick I really was just because I couldn't at least show my face to that selfish bastard."

There was a pause and a cold smirk spread across his face as he turned back to Yuuki. "I keep a gun beside my bed for protection. I picked it up, went to the living room, and decided to just end it all. No one would miss me. Everyone would just breathe a sigh of relief knowing they now wouldn't have to deal with the poor orphaned child—"

"Stop it! Don't say things like that!" Yuuki demanded. She let go of his hand and cupped his face. She made him look at her. "I want you to stop those thoughts right now…ok? You may of felt like that before but now I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

She held his gaze as if she was drilling that thought into his head. He didn't want to admit that the very thought of her being there for him, made that hollow feeling he always felt, not so empty. But of course he would never say that to her.

He decided that he had enough with this seriousness. He didn't want to talk anymore about the subject. So he did was he knew best. Avoid the subject at hand. He smirked at her and put his hands over hers, which were still cupping his face. "Why, Yuuki, I didn't think you cared so much."

He said it in that teasing tone that always irritated her. The brunette immediately dropped her hands, looked away, and felt a light blush dust her cheeks. She knew why he was teasing so why was she getting so embarrassed?

"Yeah, whatever. It's not like I like you or anything." Yuuki put distance between them by standing up from her seat. She shook her head and turned to see him still smirking up at her. "You're so annoying, you know that?"

He shook his head, "No, actually I've been called many things but annoying isn't one of them. It's usually along the lines of being handsome and mysterious… well so I'm told."

The brunette scoffed, "Yeah right… I don't think anyone would tell you that to your face."

"You would be surprised by how many girls that do…" He smiled lightly at her; thankful she got his hint of dropping the subject.

Weirdly, that made Yuuki's heart sting a little bit. And she had no idea why. Zero was hot but of course she would never tell him that. His head was big enough about his looks. What made her heart sting was the thought of girls telling him these things. Why should she care? It's not like she could do anything about it… even if she wanted to. Which she didn't… did she?

Pushing that thought away hurriedly, she said, "Yeah well they all must be too dumb to look past your good looks and see how big your ego is."

"There you go again, calling me good looking. You know Yuuki, most people would think that you have a crush on me."

The brunette knew he was only joking, but then why did that flip flop feeling come back? She really shouldn't of eaten all that food this morning. She shook off the weird feeling, concluding she should just deal with it later. She whacked him in the back of the head. "Psh, in your dreams, oh-so-great-one."

Yuuki then turned to look straight ahead, a light smile was worn on her face. The slight, cool breeze felt good on her skin. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting out an inner sigh. Somehow, she knew everything was going to work out. She smiled more as she opened her eyes and turned to Zero. "Well come on, let's start back… unless you want to walk around more?"

The lavender-eyed man suddenly, didn't want the brunette to leave. He felt the most at ease when he was in her company… almost like she was some long lost friend or something. _'Yep, my life isn't going to be so simple anymore.' _But strangely, he was ok with that. If it was Yuuki, he could live with that. So realizing if they went back to his apartment, she would leave, he said, "Let's walk into town. I think we both could use the exercise."

"Psh, speak for yourself." She replied but walked alongside him as they went in the opposite direction of his apartment. The whole time they spent together that day, Zero couldn't help beating himself up for becoming so weak. Although, he would never confess to the brunette just how much he relied on her for comfort. Nope, it was his secret.

* * *

**A month and a half later**

"Yuuki… do you know just about half of the girls are giving death glares?"

"Yes Yori, I'm aware… but I just ignore them." Yuuki and her best friend Yori were walking down the school hallway, heading to Yuuki's locker. It had been like that for awhile now. Just about every girl in the school hated the brunette. But did Yuuki care? Nope, not one bit. Let them stare. They were just jealous that she was such good friends with Zero.

Yori laughed, "It doesn't seem to be working all that much… it's kind of amusing actually."

The brunette smiled back at her friend, "Now you get it, Yori. They are just jealous so I just laugh at it."

"And I'm glad your finally you're finally getting it though. You didn't there for a little bit. You thought I was crazy."

Yuuki smirked, "Well I thought everyone was more mature than that…"

They reached the brunette's locker as Yori said, "Please, Yuuki. It's high school. You're friends with the hot transfer student that won't go out give any girl here the time of day. If you weren't my best friend, I would probably hate you too."

Yuuki giggled at her friend as the blonde smiled. Then they heard, "Hey Yori!"

A bleach blonde girl waved over at her. It was one of Yori's cheerleading friends. Yuuki didn't care for just about any of them. They were always looking for the latest gossip and was actually one of the worst bunch of girls that wouldn't leave Zero alone. But they were Yori's friends, so she never said anything. And Zero always just ignored them.

Yori waved at other blonde girl and turned to Yuuki, "Well that's Serah. We got a surprise Cheerleading meeting, so I will catch up with you later, Yuuki."

"Yep, see you Yori." The brunette replied as Yori walked toward Serah. She turned to her locker and put in her combination. She pulled out her books, shut the door, and heard the first bell ring. She hurriedly turned and ran straight into a body. It caused her to drop all her books. She went to gather them up and saw whoever she ran into was doing the same thing. She looked over and saw that it was the student council president, Kaname Kuran.

Irritation quickly set in. She never did like him, despite the whole thing that happened with Aidou. He never really did anything to cause this irritation. She just always thought he was a stuck-up, rich snob just like all the others on the student council. But since she was the one that ran into him, she said, "Sorry. I should really watch where I'm going."

She saw his brown eyes widen a little in surprise. He was probably surprised that she was speaking to him. _'Who does he think he is? Acting all like he's better than me and I shouldn't be talking to him.' _She gathered all her books up in her arms and snatched the one he had in his hand. "Well nice talking to you."

She went to go on ahead to class when he stopped her, "Look now I'm the one that should be apologizing. I was just surprised that you would talk to me after everything that happened awhile ago. I just feel I should apologize myself for that. Aidou was out of line and I thoroughly punished him for it."

The brunette was taken aback a little bit but just said, "Well that's good. But next time, if you wanted to ask me to the dance… you should have done so yourself."

Yuuki started to walk towards her class but she saw the brunette man was walking alongside her. He said, "I apologize. Honestly, I didn't tell him to ask you. He just took it upon himself to ask you for me which I had no part in, I assure you… so can you forgive me for his stupidness?"

She fought down a smile. "Just this once, I suppose."

The brunette man smiled at her. _'I guess I was wrong about him. He doesn't seem so bad,' _she thought. They reached Yuuki's classroom and she was about to go in, when he stopped her. "Hey Yuuki."

She turned her head towards him, "Yes?"

"I'm glad I got to clear that all up with you… and I hope we can get to know each other more." His eyes looked hopeful which made Yuuki confused.

The student council president, Kaname Kuran, always had people around him. He had girls worshiping him and guys even wishing they could be him. She never quite understood why. He just seemed like a pompous jerk to her. But talking to him right now, he didn't seem like that at all. Maybe she really was too quick at judging people. She could at least give them a chance. Zero certainly proved to her that not all men were the same. Who knows? Her and Kaname could eventually be friends.

So Yuuki gave him a light smile and said, "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

He returned her smile and then turned to walk away. Yuuki turned to look in the classroom for Zero and spotted him out immediately. She started making her way over to sit in the empty seat next to him. She got a closer look at him and saw that his brow was furrowed and his lavender eyes were darker, almost like he was mad at something.

"What's up?" She asked, curiously. He seemed fine at lunch. She swore; if those cheerleading blonde girls were at him again, she going to start punching them. They were extremely annoying and could really get on your nerves.

"What was that all about?" He nodded towards the doorway.

She stared at him, confused for a moment. But then it dawned on her. "Oh, Kaname? Nothing really… he was just apologizing to me for the way Aidou acted awhile back. He was acting kind of nice actually"

"Ahh," said the silver-haired man, dismissively and looking away from her.

The brunette didn't like that. It sounded like he wanted to say more. "What is it, Zero?"

"Nothing, it's just he waits for over a month later to apologize to you? That doesn't sound very sincere to me."

Yuuki did think about it for a little bit and concluded that he was right. "You may be right Zero, but I decided that I was going to give him the benefit of a doubt. He's never really done anything to me before. I have also decided that I'm going to quit being so uptight and try to give people a chance…maybe you should too."

Zero shook his head, "No, I'm just fine. It's just I don't like Kuran… but its not my business. Just promise that you will be careful… there's something I just don't trust about him."

The brunette smiled. "I promise…" Then she smacked him in the shoulder. "Quit being a worry wart… you're acting like my mom."

He smirked at her, "Who even says 'worry wart' anymore? How old are you… about 60?"

She rolled her eyes, "Please, I would think you would be the 60 year old. Did you know you can get wrinkles from scowling all the time?"

"Ha-ha, like I have never heard that one before."

Zero would never admit this to himself, but this was the Yuuki he knew and liked. Over this past month, she really stuck to her word and was always there when he needed her. They were attached at the hip so to speak. So that's why, if anyone asked about what was going on between them, he would say that she was his best friend.

Maybe that's why he felt so jealous when he saw her talking to that pompous Kuran. The two hated each other ever since he transferred here. It was because half of his admirers were his now, not that he wanted them. So that's why when he saw Kuran trying to work his charm on Yuuki, he felt an immediate urge to pull her away from him and shout at him to stay away from her.

Yep, his simple life just now got complicated…

**A/N: So did you like it? You should leave me a review to tell me! (: Oh and I wanted to give a special shoutout to _Zeroswifey3000 _for pushing me to write the next chapter. I hadn't realized it had been so long and thank you so much for loving the story. It really truly makes me smile that you guys take the time to read my story and review to tell me your thoughts about it.**

**Well enough with being all sappy lol I just wanted to say that I will try my hardest to update more. Just life truly gets in the way and I had writer's block there for a little bit so that's why the ending of this chapter is kind of meh, but I promise it won't be that long of a wait for an update.**

**So I hope you guys are still with me and will keep reading and leaving me some feedback! Until next time! (:**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to _jorie, Zeroswifey3000, rilakkat, crivera21, Xtremefairy, Shizza24, MamaAngel, LaRousseGirl, Akihcawas,  . , Dragonfly, poockyy, and 3 guests!_ Wow guys, 15 reviews.. thats seriously the most I have ever gotten on a chapter! You guys are so awesome! I'm sorry for the long wait and I don't really want to give you a long winded excuse so let me just say this, I'm truly humbled that you guys like the story. Thank you so much!**

**Oh and a side note, the scene where it is all italicized is Zero's dream, I hope it's not too confusing.**

**Thats enough of that... enjoy the chapter and leave me some feedback (:**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"_You are what I never knew I always wanted"_

* * *

"Hey Yuuki, would you mind giving me a moment of your time?" Kaname Kuran asked the brunette girl.

Said brunette girl smiled a little and shook her head, "Kaname, I told you that you didn't have to be so formal with me."

As she shut the door of her locker, she turned to see the brunette male smiling kindly at her. "I can't help it. When I'm around you, I feel like I should act gentlemanly towards you. It doesn't hurt to be that way now does it?"

Yuuki just rolled her eyes playfully at him. For the past week she and the student council president had been spending more time together. It was nothing really serious or anything. He would just come and walk her to class every so often and talk with her in the classes they shared. Yuuki found that he really was an ok guy to talk to. He never really bothered her or made her feel like she needed to get away from him.

Although, she could tell that Zero did not like him at all and vice versa. Kaname never said anything about his dislike for Zero out loud but she could tell. He had good sense not to because Yuuki would surely let him have it. Nobody messed with her friends. She didn't get why Zero did not like Kaname but she just let it be. He didn't have to like him but she did wish he could at least tolerate him. Since Kaname started coming to walk her to her classes, Zero would just scoff and go ahead of them.

He did this so much that Yuuki felt like she didn't see much of her newfound friend all this week. He had been stuck at work all the time; he worked 6 out of 7 days this week. She didn't like that; nope not one bit.

Anyway, Yuuki and Kaname reached Yuuki's classroom. The brunette snuck a peek in the classroom and saw that Zero was already in there, casually reading Othello. That book was part of the huge English research assignment that wasn't due for another couple of months but leave it to Zero to already get a jumpstart on it.

She lightly smiled at the thought of someone else being more neurotic with school work than she was.

"Yuuki?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to Kaname, "Huh?"

Kaname smiled, "I knew you weren't listening. I just told you that we were all planning to have the school trip on the moon and you just nodded."

"I'm sorry, Kaname. I can be such a space case sometimes." She offered apologetically, "What were you saying again?"

"Well I was saying, well asking if you wanted to come to a party I'm having next Saturday night."

"A party?" Yuuki asked skeptically. Sure she went to the ones Yori always threw but she heard about the ones Kaname always had at his mansion. She had overheard conversations about everyone getting overly drunk and acting like a bunch of wild animals. That just wasn't her scene at all.

"Yeah, it should be fun. Well that's what everyone says at least." Kaname continued, hoping to convince her. "So will you come?"

Yuuki started shaking her head, "Kaname, I don't think that is really—"

Yuuki got cut off when she heard a girl's high pitched laughter. She turned away from the brunette male and saw a girl she recognized from the cheerleading squad talking to Zero. Yeah, the same brooding, antisocial guy that she considered one of her best friends. The thing that was so unusual about it was that he was actually listening and talking back to the girl.

He still had the same look he always wore on his face but he was actually contributing to the conversation. The blonde cheerleader said something to him and then all of the sudden Yuuki saw him smile. It wasn't a full blown grin, but a barely there smile which the brunette would bet no one would be able to tell but her. This scene that was playing in front of her made her feel like her heart dropped in her stomach. This stinging also overcame her and she didn't like it. All she knew that right now, she had to get over to Zero.

Without looking back at the male she was supposed to be paying attention to, Yuuki said, "It's really not my thing, so I can't. I'm sorry."

She started to walk in the classroom when she heard Kaname ask, "Will you at least think about it?"

"Yeah, sure… uhh look, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" The brunette was trying to wave him off because she just wanted to get over to Zero. She didn't comprehend why. She just suddenly had the need to rip him away from that blonde ditz.

So without another word to Kaname, she went over to her desk beside Zero and sat down. The silver-haired man and the blonde girl still carried on their conversation, which they were talking about some weird teacher or something. Yuuki fought the urge to roll her eyes. She knew what the girl was trying to do and she couldn't wait to rain on her little charade.

"Hey Zero…" Yuuki caught his attention and the two stopped talking. "I got to thinking, what movie did you feel like watching tonight? I was thinking of a scarier type this time around."

Zero's lavender eyes widened a fraction. She knew the reason for this but chose to ignore it. The two never talked about hanging out together after school in front of everyone. There was no real reason why. They just didn't want the rumors to worsen, especially since they died down. But for right now, Yuuki didn't care. She wanted this girl to know so she would just see she had no chance at all.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I guess I will just talk to you later, Zero." The blonde cheerleader walked away, defeated. _'Mission accomplished,' _Yuuki thought triumphantly.

"What was that all about, Yuuki?" Zero looked at her, quizzically.

The brunette just shrugged. Yeah, like she was going to tell him the truth. "Nothing, I was just asking what movie you wanted to see tonight."

Zero was still looking at her curiously. He nodded and said, "Ok but because of your question, you do realize that now everyone is going to know we hang out after school."

"Honestly Zero, I really don't care. Let them think whatever they want." Yuuki stated as she looked over at him. "Speaking of which, what were you talking to a cheerleader for?"

The light-haired male smirked and said, "Oh is that what she was?"

"Zero, she had a cheerleading uniform on…"

"Oh, I didn't notice." He said, simply.

Yuuki waited but he still didn't answer her question. So she asked again, "Anyway, that's not the point. What were you talking to her for?"

He just shrugged, lazily. "Nothing important, really. She missed her morning Calculus class and was wondering if she could copy my notes and get the homework assignment."

'_Oh, so she couldn't just get it from any other person in the entire senior class… yeah right' _Yuuki thought to herself. "Hm, that seemed to take a long time to tell her a homework assignment."

That thought was out before she even realized it she said it out loud. Zero raised an eyebrow at her, "What's with you? Weren't you the one telling me that I should start being nicer towards others?"

Yuuki silently scolded herself because he was right. She didn't know why she cared so much about him talking to another girl. She should be glad that he was actually talking to someone else because he was her friend. "Yeah, but I was just surprised because you have never really listened to me before."

Zero though about it then nodded. Yuuki then tried to change the subject. She didn't want to dwell on the fact that if she had her way, she would have every girl in the school stay away from him. "So anyway, what movie did you want to see? A horror movie?"

The lavender eyed man smirked, "I'm pretty sure the last one we saw, you were scared. You made me turn on the light beside us and made sure everywhere you went, the lights were on first."

"Psh, is it a crime that I just wanted to make sure I could see where I was going? Besides, I'm not scared of hardly anything. Especially any old, dumb scary movie…"

"Ok then… I think I want to watch that one with the demons in it… that sounds like a decent one."

The brunette froze. _'Crap, he picks the one thing that makes me really jumpy.' _But she hid her apprehension and replied, "Ok, I will rent that one. Are we watching it at my place or yours?"

He just shrugged, "It doesn't matter."

She pondered for a moment but the concluded, "How about your place? My mom isn't home anyway so there's no point going to mine. She'll be upset anyway that you came over without seeing her."

Zero agreed, smiling a little. It was a Friday and it wasn't often he had this night off. Since he had been working quite a bit this week, his boss decided to give him the night off. So of course, he would be spending it with Yuuki. They spent a lot of time together, which to Zero, wasn't usual behavior. He caught himself not minding that he spent all his extra time with the brunette. He would never admit that to her though. How could he have let himself become so attached to her?

After school, they went their separate ways but only for a little bit. Yuuki was going to go home and change, get the movie, and also get something for them to eat tonight. He had to take a scolding from her when she found out that he, yet again, did not have any food in his house. He smiled at that. Then she grumbled when he gave her money to go get it. It was a rather amusing sight.

At home, he changed out of his school uniform and set up a place in the living room to watch a movie. Yuuki came not too long after that, with groceries in tow.

"I didn't know what to make and I knew you had to be sick of takeout food, so how about grilled cheese?"

She had such an anticipated look on her face, he couldn't help but smirk and say, "Whatever works but you know, you better not burn the house down."

"Psh, grilled cheese is a snap. I don't know how anyone could burn an apartment down with that." Yuuki stated, confidently. But after about 10 minutes, Zero could tell that grilled cheese was impossible for the brunette. He was surprised she didn't set of the smoke alarm.

She turned to him and asked grumpily, "How about a bowl of cereal?"

Zero smirked and if he was anyone else, he probably would have laughed so hard at her. The smirk earned him a glare from the brunette. She hated when he did that because he only smirked like that when he was making fun of her. He couldn't help it though. Yuuki had black soot right on the tip of her nose and it was certainly a rare sight to see her admit defeat.

He took over, "Well here, let me try."

She stepped away from the stove and was watching for something she could tease him about. But instead of that, she started to admire him. The made the sandwich quite expertly. Moving around in the kitchen with such ease and certain grace, he had her hypnotized. He set down the sandwich in front of her.

Without a word, she took a bite and just about moaned with delight. It had to be the best grilled cheese she had ever tasted. And that was saying something because the brunette was a rather picky eater. "Seriously? Why did you make me go through all of that when you can actually cook?"

He shrugged as he set his own plate down at the table and went to eat. "I just thought I would access your cooking skills. I didn't really think it was possible to burn the place down with just grilled cheese. But you proved me wrong, Yuuki."

She knew it was childish but she stuck her tongue out at him. Although, she made a note to herself to somehow get Zero to cook all her meals for her. Well, if that was ever possible.

The light-haired man just rolled his eyes playfully back at her. After finishing up with their meal, they made their way into the living room… well after Zero told her to wash the soot off her face. Yuuki squealed and yelled at him for not telling her sooner. Anyway, they both settled down on the couch as the movie began to play.

It wasn't very good in Yuuki's opinion, although it did make her jump at parts. Zero smirked because by the end of the movie, she was latched on to his arm. She immediately removed herself when the movie was over. She couldn't help it. She hated anything to do with demons or ghosts.

It was over by nine. The pair then just decided to watch another movie but this one was an action flick; Zero's choice. It was a pretty long movie and after about an hour into it, he felt Yuuki leaning on him a little. He looked over to see she was already asleep. Not wanting to wake her up, he switched off the movie.

He decided just to let her sleep on the couch so he gently laid her head down on a pillow. He got a blanket from his room and put it over her. She only stirred a little but then drifted back into a deep sleep. Silently for some reason, he watched her. Then wondering what he was doing, he went into his room to get ready for bed.

* * *

Yuuki woke up abruptly, later that night. She wondered for a second where she was but concluded she must have fallen asleep at Zero's. Letting out a yawn, she accepted that she was still here and tried to go back to sleep. When she was almost asleep, she heard a scream. She sat up quickly and strained to see if she was just hearing things. But then she heard another more muffled scream coming towards Zero's room. Hurriedly she looked around and saw he was not in the same room as her. Where was he?

The brunette got up and went to his door to the bedroom. She opened it a little to see the transfer, under the covers still asleep. For a second, she thought she was really just hearing things and she felt stupid for thinking he could be in trouble. When she went to go back to the couch, she heard make a muffled scream again.

She whipped her head around and went to the side of his bed. He still had his bedside lamp on so she saw he was still asleep. _'He must be having a nightmare.' _When she got closer, she saw his face was contorted in pain. His eyebrows were scrunched together and he was sweating, profusely. His hands were balled into fists, so tight his knuckles were turning white.

Her heart instantly felt like it was going to break. She had to get him awake… she hated to see him in pain, any kind of pain. But she heard you shouldn't force someone away from a nightmare. He was breathing raggedly and making pained noises. So slowly, she started to gently pet his head, smoothing his hair down and say softly, "Its ok, Zero. I'm here. Everything is ok now."

_He woke up suddenly. He looked around the pitch black room, wondering why he hadn't left the light by his beside on. He was never really comfortable in the pure darkness. He rubbed his eyes and decided that he was thirsty. So he headed out to the kitchen to get a glass of water, being mindful not to wake Yuuki. Speaking of the brunette, he looked over towards the couch to see if she was still sleeping. Nothing could have prepared him from what he saw._

_He saw that she was not lying on the couch. Strange. He went a little closer and there was where he saw her. She was lying in front of the couch in a pool of blood. He saw her chest was not moving and she was so incredibly still. _

_Zero immediately dropped his glass, paying no mind to the glass shattering on the floor. All he could see was Yuuki, his best friend, lying in a great amount of her blood. He ran over to her, shouting, "Yuuki!? Yuuki!?"_

_As he dropped down by her side, he scooped her up in his arms. He began to shake her a little to get her to open her eyes but when he saw what looked to be a gunshot wound to her chest, he knew he was too late. She had no pulse at all and was cold, so very cold to the touch. He begged and pleaded with her. "Yuuki, wake up… please wake up! Don't do this, please! You can't leave me behind!"_

_He was shouting desperately to her but he knew it was no use. This couldn't be happening! How was this possible? There was no way she could be dead. He cradled her to himself, as he felt a lump in his throat and his eyes start to sting. Why did she have to die? Anyone but her… why did it have to be her? If there was a god out there, he was truly a cruel being._

"_You're pathetic." Zero snapped his head up at the sound of a voice. He turned to see a mirror image of himself, looking straight back at him. Everything around the three of them was completely black. The second Zero continued on to say, "See what has become of you? You let something as despicable as love come back into your life and look what it's done. It's brought you nothing but pain and it's turned you into an unsightly, blubbering mess… truly disgusting."_

_Zero hugged the lifeless Yuuki tightly to himself. He looked down at her, brushing a stray hair from her face. He realized he was probably covered in her blood but he didn't care. Nothing else mattered now. "You make me sick. This is your entire fault and yet, you try to delude yourself into thinking you actually cared about her. You did this to her. Because of your selfish need for her, she is dead. This pure and innocent girl did not deserve this. You will carry that burden of her death with you. If you had just stayed away from her like usual, she would have lived a long and happy life."_

_Every sentence he heard pierced him like a blade. He knew all of that to be true. Yuuki had been the only light he had in his dark, dark self. Now, that light was permanently burnt out, all because he couldn't keep her safe. He failed her._

_Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the mirror image of him disappeared as did the lifeless Yuuki. He searched desperately around for her but could not see a thing in the cold darkness. But then, he heard something faintly off in the distance. It was still too dark to see anything. Squinting his eyes, he saw a faint glow of light to the right of him. When he walked closer to it, he began to hear the gentlest voice. "Zero, everything is ok… wake up, please. I'm right here beside you."_

_He knew that voice. "Yuuki?" As he got closer, the atmosphere was warm and made him feel at peace. So he walked closer to the light until finally…_

He shot up out of his bed, darting his eyes around the room. He suddenly became afraid that this nightmare had become real. But then he heard, "Zero?"

He turned to his right and saw the bright eyed, confused brunette. Her gaze was full of concern and a hint of confusion. But he did not care, not one bit. She was right beside him, alive. He couldn't contain the huge rush of relief that came over him.

He reached for her and pulled her tightly in his arms. Hearing a gasp of surprise from the girl did not faze him. She really was alive! It all had just been one horrible, vividly real nightmare. He never wanted to let her go. He really thought he had lost her forever.

All the while, Yuuki was so confused as to what was happening. Zero just sprang out of sleep and hauled her in his arms, hugging her rather tightly. A little too tightly; it was almost painful. She didn't want to pull away from him though. No, not after she that look of pure fear in his eyes when he first woke up. He was trembling too and her heart went out to him. The nightmare must have been really horrible.

She really wanted to protect him from all the bad that has occurred in his life. But how could she when it invaded him when he slept? Had he always had such nightmares like this? She wanted to cry when the image of six year old Zero being all alone in the world. He must have been so scared, so helpless since no one even cared enough to see that all he really needed was someone to care.

His arms tightened around her more, which broke her away from these thoughts. "Zero…" She began but he did not answer. "Zero, you're hurting me…"

Instantly, he relaxed his hold. Almost immediately, Yuuki pulled away from him and put her hand against his cheek, gently. "Zero… are you ok?"

Zero looked into her eyes and slowly nodded. The brunette let out a huge sigh of relief, "Good… I'm so glad you're ok, Zero."

Said male saw how she looked worriedly at him, waiting for his answer to her question. She had looked so concerned for him. How could she care for him this deeply?

As he nodded his answer, he saw her relax and let out a sigh of relief. He noticed how she smiled ever so gently at him. The soft glow of the lamp beside them lit up her face and made her eyes sparkle. He couldn't believe he never really noticed just how beautiful she really is. And this look she was giving him, he had only seen it directed at him. Could he dangerously believe that, that look was reserved only for him?

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, bringing his hand to overlap the one she held against his cheek. He opened his lavender eyes and saw that she was now adorning a blush across her face. It was so adorable. Pure and innocent Yuuki… how he wished that he could have her all to himself. But he knew that he could not want such things.

Meanwhile, Yuuki was trying really hard to fight down the blush she knew was splashed across her face. She always hated the idea that Zero always did this to her when she was in his close proximity. It was even worse when he touched her. His clammy but warm hand engulfed hers completely.

She thought he was going to pull her hand away and just change the subject like he always did. Instead, he closed his eyes, as if he welcomed her touch. He even leaned in a little more. Her blush deepened… seriously what was wrong with her?

He opened those beautiful colored eyes, just staring wordlessly at her. She studied him, taking in just how handsome he really is. It was then that she realized that she was sitting in his bed. Instead of stressing over that, she saw him start to lean closer… very slow and deliberate. Her brain went on overload. _'What was he doing!? He's not! No way,' _these were only a few of the many thoughts that were going through her head. But then at the last second, he turned to the side and buried his face into her shoulder.

"I'm ok, Yuuki… thank you." He said ever so softly.

Yuuki was just frozen. Did he really try to? No… no she was just being stupid. Zero would not even consider that. More importantly, she should not even consider that. She began to think maybe she should always make sure she was a couple of feet away from him at all times. His closeness seemed to be doing something strange to her brain cells.

**A/N: Did you like? I hope so! I'm sorry guys for the long wait you have been having in between chapters. I never meant for that to happen. But life truly got in the way. Plus I just started a new job to where it takes up most of time. So I'm going to set a realistic goal for myself. I will try to update every other month… So the next time I should be updating is November.**

**If I don't set a realistic goal then I will put it off. Thanks to anyone who is truly loving my story and sticking with me. I'm seriously not giving up on it. I'm in love with the story too and I have plans for it. I'm not sure how long it will be but it's far from over.**

**Also, I wanted to say that for those who have read the manga will be familiar with the scene above. I did get the inspiration from the original but I tried to put my own spin to it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed and I hope you stick with me through this! You guys are all great! Keep reviewing because that seriously makes me believe that you enjoy it. Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to _XXX-Sakura-KagamineXXX_, _LaRousseGirl_, _crivera21_, _Shizza24_, _QueenCythia_, _Zeroswifey3000_, _Xtremefairy_, _ToBeTrue_, _Zeki_, _imuya_, _Sushi_ _Bear_, _Zaan_, _crazyrawrx3_, _Music4Life13_, _YouLoveMeAlways_, _SakuraChanBea_, _AmiMinazuki_, _Katie Espo_, _zeKaien_, and _2 guests_ for the reviews! Wow guys, 20 reviews.. that seriously is just.. wow thank you. I so hope this next chapter is worth the wait since you guys patiently waited for it. Read and enjoy!**

**Chapter 9**

"_I've got a tight grip on reality but I can't let go of what's in front of me here."  
__**-The Only Exception**__, Paramore_

'I just can't understand why Zero has been ignoring me,' Yuuki thought to herself. It absolutely puzzled her to think that she could have done something for him just too outright avoid her. And it wasn't all in her head. Every time she yelled him over or tried to talk to him in class, he gave the excuse that he was busy. The weekend was uneventful after the nightmare incident, so she couldn't have done anything to make him cut her off. She also couldn't understand why it bothered her so much.

Yuuki broke out of her train of thought and looked up to see Zero getting books out of his locker. Now this was her chance. She was going to get to the bottom of this. She called, "Hey Zero!"

Said man turned his head up to meet her eyes. He looked away and shut his locker as she walked closer to him. She thought he was going to turn and walk away from her as if to pretend he didn't hear her. But he surprised her by waiting up for her.

When she reached him, he gave a look as if to say, 'Yes?'

"Hey, are you on your way to study hall?" She asked hopefully. Usually they talked during study hall but lately he hadn't been there this past week for some reason.

He shook his head and didn't say anything. 'Ok' Yuuki thought to herself, 'Is he even going to speak to me?'

"Why not?" She asked.

He stared at her for a second but then said, "Well I'm going to the library to get started on the English research project."

Yuuki had to contain a roll of her eyes. That thing wasn't due for another couple of months. She knew he was neurotic about his school work, just not that neurotic. She knew he was avoiding her, so she was going to get to the bottom of it whether he liked it or not. "Zero, why have you been avoiding me?"

He raised his eyebrows a little in surprise, not expecting that question. "Avoiding you? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. You have barely said anything to me these past few days."

Zero shook his head a little, "And you call that avoiding? I have just been really busy."

This time, she did roll her eyes. "Come on, Zero. I know when you are avoiding something. Every time I call over to you, you act like you don't hear me. Also, you have been even skipping lunch and now study hall to go to the library?"

The silver haired man narrowed his eyes a little at her. "You're being too sensitive, Yuuki. I've just been busy. You can't expect me to spend all my free time with you."

That comment left an unusual sting in her chest. Of course she didn't expect him to be around her all the time; he just had been for awhile now. Masking the sting she felt, she glared at him. "Don't be a jerk about it. It was just a simple observation. You're the one who getting all defensive. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Be an ignorant jerk."

Zero's expression matched hers. "I'm not getting defensive."

She gave him a look that read, 'You're doing it right now.' The transfer student got more and more frustrated. He inched his face closer to her, staring her down, "Just get off my back, Yuuki. I'm having a bad day and you don't want to be on the receiving end of it."

The brunette's eyes shone of defiance. This innocent conversation she had planned to have with him turned into a big 'who can get the other more pissed off' match. He shouldn't have hurt her feelings then turn around and try to brush her off saying she was being too sensitive. "Just try me, Zero. You don't scare me one—"

"Hey Yuuki!" Said brunette turned her head away from Zero to look and see Kaname Kuran making his way over to her.

As soon as Zero saw this, he quickly said, "I'm out of here."

Then away he went. Yuuki called his name but he didn't even look back. Now madder than anything, she flicked her eyes back to the student council president. "Yes?"

Kaname looked her over with concern written on his face. Why would he be concerned? "I was just walking by and I saw you two over here looking pretty heated. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok."

The brunette girl knew she should be grateful that was worried for her but all the emotion she felt right now was annoyance. Zero wouldn't have done anything to her. That was really the only time he spoke more that 2 words to her. "Thanks Kaname, but we were just having a little disagreement. Nothing to stress over."

"Oh, well I'm glad." The brunette male smiled out of relief. "Anyway, can I walk you to class? It's almost time for second bell."

Yuuki was about to protest but she knew if she did, Kaname would be adamant and more annoying if she didn't. She was just annoyed at the fact that he had to butt in to her and Zero's business. But she nodded in agreement to his request. They reached her classroom and she snuck a peek in the room to see Zero was in there. 'I thought he was going to the library?' Yuuki thought.

"Hey Yuuki, before you go in… I wanted to ask you if you gave any thought about the party this Saturday night."

The brunette girl turned her attention away from Zero to Kaname. She didn't give the party any thought; actually she forgot all about it. But she knew she wasn't going to go right from the start. So, just when she was about to tell him no, she heard a scoff coming from inside the classroom. She knew that Zero heard them somehow.

It pissed her off that he thought he knew everything about her. He just thought he was so smart. Well she would show him that he didn't know her all that well after all. She smiled at Kaname and said, "You know what? Why not?"

The brunette male looked surprised, "Really?

She nodded, "Yeah, I don't see why not. As long as I can bring someone along."

She saw his eyes flash in the classroom for a split second but then back to her. She was a little miffed at that. Why did he automatically assume it was Zero? She was actually thinking of taking only Yori along because she knew there was no chance in hell that Zero would come too. That was obvious. But she said nothing as Kaname smiled and said, "That's fine. I will give you the directions to my place later today. See you later."

Then he was off and she went into the classroom just as the bell rang. She sat in her seat next to Zero, who was wearing his best stoic look. She smirked a little to herself, knowing that she had caught him off guard. He deserved it for eavesdropping on their conversation. She pretended to act dumb and ask the lavender eyed man, "I thought you were going to the library?"

"I just decided I would start on the research tomorrow." He replied without looking at her. Nothing was said for a couple minutes and Yuuki could tell he was angry. Sure, she wanted to annoy the hell out of him but not make him angrier. His body was tensed up and he was making sure to take even breaths. She knew he was going to blow up at her. "Yuuki, what the hell was that about?"

"What? You mean the whole Kaname's party thing…?" She asked. "Nothing really. He's having a little get together at his house on Saturday and he invited me to come. It's not a big deal."

He shot a glare in her direction. Oh crap, he was really, really mad. "Yuuki, I know you're not that stupid. I know exactly what kind of party this is. It's one of those drunk, out of control parties that people go to, to make themselves believe they fit in."

The brunette was a little appalled at that. Surely, Zero knew her better than that. "So you actually believe that's why I'm going?"

Zero rolled his eyes, "Of course not. I know you don't give a crap about what any of these people think about you. That's why I don't get why you are even seriously going."

"I don't know. It's a change of pace and Kaname looked like he really wanted me to come." Yuuki saw her best friend stiffen at the mention of the brunette male. "He asked me at the beginning of the week so I have had time to think about it and see no sense in not going for at least a couple hours."

Zero's eyes darkened so she knew she just made his mood worse. "Yuuki… do you even know what a guy expects when you agree to go to a party with him?"

Yuuki's eyes widened like saucers. "Whoa, whoa I'm not going with him… it's his party. I'm just going to see him there. Besides, I'm taking Yori with me."

He sighed in exasperation and shook his head. "That doesn't matter, Yuuki. I know exactly what that arrogant ass is thinking. I know he has an ulterior motive."

"What are you talking about, Zero?"

"God, Yuuki. Why do you have to be so—" He kept his voice even. He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention from their other classmates. "He's thinking with you drinking, he will be able to finally get you in his bed."

Yuuki shot him a 'yeah right' look. "You're overreacting, Zero. He's not expecting anything like that. And if so, he's being stupid. I would never let anything like that happen. I can take care of myself."

"So why go if you have to watch out for yourself?"

She rolled her eyes. This conversation was wearing her out. No way in hell was she going to tell him that she just accepted to annoy him. But now he was making her seem like she was some weak naïve girl that a guy would take full advantage of. "You know what, who cares what the reason is. You have been avoiding me all week so you shouldn't care what I do anyway."

"Now we are back to this. I swear Yuuki, if you just did this to piss me off more, you're being childish."

Yuuki narrowed her eyes, "Now why would I do that? You were being a jerk to me all week so I would think that you wouldn't care about what I do. You're not telling me what I did wrong."

"Yuuki, just drop it. I have been busy—"

"Don't give me that." She said, interrupting what she knew was his usual excuse. "I'm not going to drop it until you tell me why."

He balled his hands into fists and just said, "Whatever, you think what you want to think and I guess you're going to do whatever you want to do. Just don't come looking for me when you realize just how much Kaname is a jackass."

And the silver haired man wouldn't say anything more. He got up from his seat and asked the teacher if he could be excused to be at the library for the rest of the period. He was granted permission and out the door he went. The brunette girl couldn't understand why he got so angry. She would be able to handle herself. She didn't need his approval to do anything.

She was mad at him… but that thought left such an uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

* * *

**Saturday Night**

"You're not seriously wearing that, are you?" Her best girl friend, Yori asked. She was scrutinizing the brunette's outfit.

"What? I think it looks ok." She defended. She thought she looked decent. She had on a pair of blue jeans with a nice black sweater on. She didn't see what was so wrong with it.

Her blonde friend shook her head. "Come on, Yuuki! If we are going to go to one of the biggest parties of the year, you got to dress like it. Hmmm… how about that cute sweater dress I bought you for Christmas last year?"

"Yori, it's too cold out for that sort of thing." Yuuki said, instantly shutting down that idea.

"Nonsense, you can pair it with those dark gray tights underneath." When she saw her best friend was still unconvinced, "Come on, Yuuki. Please? Just this once, let me dress you."

She sighed in defeat. Oh what the hell. She went and put on exactly what Yori said. Yori smiled so big, "Oh Yuuki, you look so pretty."

She looked in the mirror and blushed a little. The white sweater dress sparkled a little in the light and only reached mid thigh. It went great though with the tights she wore underneath. Her long, chocolate brown hair was slightly curled at the ends and she wore a little more make up than usual. She didn't recognize herself in the mirror. "I guess you were right, Yori."

"Hmph, I know I'm a genius. You don't have to say it." Yori giggled. Then she gasped when she looked at the time. "We better get going, Yuuki. Are we taking my car?"

She snapped out of looking at herself in the mirror and nodded. "Yeah, I told my mom I was sleeping over at your house."

The two friends slipped on their boots and they went out the door. It was a short, 15 minute drive over to Kaname's house. The friends said some idle chit chat and Yori refrained from asking Yuuki what was up with Zero. She knew the two best friends haven't talked all week and there was tension between them, especially the last couple of days. But every time Yori asked Yuuki about it, she immediately stiffened and didn't want to talk about it. Whatever it was, she knew it had to be something about going to this party.

She was surprised when Yuuki asked her to come with her. No way would the old Yuuki want to go to a party like this. But she said yes all the same way. She was always curious to see just how these parties went. They reached the mansion-like house and could hear the music from the end of the driveway. There was already a large amount of cars parked around the circular driveway so she found a spot that could be easy to get out off. She knew her best brunette friend would not want to stay for long.

The two girls walked up the driveway and Yuuki rang the doorbell. About a minute passed and then the door swung wide open to reveal the student council president. His eyes widened at little at the sight of the brunette, Yori noticed almost immediately. Yep, the president was warm for her form. Yori was going to let anything happen though. She knew Yuuki and Zero had feelings for each other and it was only a matter of time before they got together. She was team Zero through and through.

"Yuuki! I'm so glad you made it. And Yori too of course. Come on in." As soon as Yuuki walked past him, Yori saw his eyes drift up and down her body. Oh yeah, this guy definitely had the hots for her friend.

Yuuki was of course oblivious to it all. She looked around and saw the house was packed with people from their school but also others she didn't recognize. But it wasn't as bad as she was expecting. There were no people falling over drunk, or dancing on tables. She made sure she had a hold of Yori's arm as they had to push past people to follow Kaname into the living room. It wasn't so packed in there. There was a DJ station set up to where the music was blaring as there was enough room for people to be dancing; so far so good.

Kaname stopped here and turned around to look at the two friends. "Do you girls want a drink?"

The girls both replied with just water. The brunette male frowned a little, "Are you sure? I got beer and just about any liquor you can think of. I could make you a mix drink, Yuuki."

"No, I'm ok. Water would be fine." She replied. She really didn't feel like drinking tonight. She never got drunk and at Yori's parties she would always just have a wine cooler of some kind. She didn't really care for alcohol much. Kaname left, defeated to get the two water.

"Yuuki, you can drink some. I wasn't planning on drinking at all since I'm driving." She offered, loudly since the music was deafening. But she saw her friend shake her head.

"I don't really feel like it tonight. I don't want to stay too late tonight anyway." Yori nodded her head in agreement. Kaname came back with the water. He started to try to chat up her brunette friend but she knew Yuuki was completely oblivious. He was telling her how good she looked in her outfit and Yuuki just thanked him.

Yori smirked at Kaname, trying to pick up her friend. The door bell rang and Kaname excused himself to get the door. The two girls made their way over to the dining area where all the food was at to get farther away from the blaring music.

"Yuuki, you are so oblivious I swear." Yori smiled over at her.

Yuuki threw her a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

"Kaname… he can't keep his eyes off of you." Yori giggled.

The brunette just shrugged her shoulders. "Well whatever. I just came here because he invited me and it's actually not that bad. Heck, it could even be a little fun. It has to be a lot better than just sitting home, thinking about…"

She stopped herself. She didn't like to admit to her best friend, even herself that she missed Zero. She also didn't want to say that she wished he was here. Of course, he wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. Yori looked on sadly at Yuuki, "It's ok to say that you miss him, Yuuki."

The brunette girl immediately straightened up and pushed all her thoughts about him away. She wasn't going to let him take over her mind or feel guilty for coming. He had no say in this. She was about to say something to her best friend when she saw Yori's cheerleading friends make their way over to them. 'Oh great. Just what I need.' Yuuki thought.

"Hi Yori! We didn't know you were coming!" The bleach blonde girl Yuuki knew her as Serah, exclaimed. She had two more other blonde girls behind her which she recognized as her followers.

Yori smiled, "Hi Serah. Yeah, Kaname invited Yuuki to come and I just came along for the ride."

"Oh you should have said something, Yori. We would have definitely let you ride with us." Serah said, shooting a little condescending look over at Yuuki. Did the brunette mention that this blonde girl hated her guts?

Yori tensed a little. She didn't really care for these girls but they were on the same squad so they had to get along. She still didn't like the way she talked to her best friend. But she knew it was just out of jealousy since Yuuki was best friends with Zero. "No, it was fun riding with Yuuki. Anyway, how has the night been?"

The blonder girl sighed, "It's been pretty uneventful. A lot of cute guys here though. Yori, you should work the room a little. I noticed that cute guy over there giving you the once over. Maybe you should see what's up?"

Yori looked over to where she was pointing and there was indeed a cute guy across the room smiling at her. She looked at her best friend, eyes asking if it was ok to leave her with Serah. Yuuki just smiled at her and told her to go ahead. She could handle the dumb cheerleader. Yori said she would be right back and walked on over to his side.

Almost immediately, Serah went on the attack. She leaned up against the wall and smiled evilly at the brunette. "So what are you drinking, Yuuki?"

"Water. I think you would have been able to tell with it being in a clear plastic bottle labeled 'Spring Water'." The brunette replied, innocently.

The bleach blonde rolled her eyes, "Oh, I bet you think that was just so funny. You know what, Cross, you think you are just way above all the people at our school. Well I'll let you on a little secret, you aren't even close. You are just an arrogant, goody goody hypocrite."

"Hypocrite? How am I a hypocrite?" The brunette demanded. This cheerleader was grating on her nerves.

Serah smirked, "Oh, I don't know. How about for our whole entire high school years, you made sure you bragged to everybody on how you don't go to parties or basically any guy at our school wasn't good enough for you. But as soon as the gorgeous transfer student comes in, you make sure to seduce him so no one else can have a chance with him. You're just a typical attention whore."

Yuuki rolled her eyes. Somehow, she knew this was all going to be about Zero. She knew the blonde was bitter about how he didn't give her the time of day but he gave Yuuki all his attention. The brunette didn't care but she didn't appreciate everyone thinking that Zero was some sort of prize or something. He was so much more than that. "God, Serah. Green is totally not your color. Besides, Zero is a person. He can choose whoever he wants to spend his time with. It's not my fault that he thinks my company is way better than yours."

"Oh, please." The blonde cheerleader scoffed as her followers rolled their eyes. "You're not anything special. He just hasn't given me a chance to show just how good my 'company' can really be."

Instantly, Yuuki's body tensed and she had to fight to not reach out and claw one Serah's eyes out. Like hell she was going to let that happen. She decided to stay silent because she didn't want her think she was getting to her. She just needed to take deep, even breaths. Meanwhile, Serah was moving in for the kill, "I mean you must be such boring company, talking about school and everything. I mean you are drinking water at a high school party… how much lamer can you get?"

If they were in a cartoon right now, you would be able to see the steam coming out of her ears. She was done being insulted. She would show that dumb bimbo. "I just choose not to drink. I bet you are all talk and that I can out drink you."

Serah smirked, knowingly. "Oh really, let's bet on it then. Ten shots of straight Jack Daniels each and they must all be downed in a row. Whoever can do this the fastest earns bragging rights and whoever loses has to stop talking to Zero."

Yuuki just scoffed. "You just threw that in there because you are confident I'm going to lose. But that means if you lose, you have to leave him alone. No more acting like a complete slut around him or asking him every five minutes if he wants to come home with you."

"Deal. If it gets you away from him, I'll take my chances." Serah commanded her friends to go get the shot glasses and Jack. The blonde led the brunette over to an empty table as the other girls set up the area. Yuuki had to admit she was a little nervous. She had drunk before but nothing like this. But she was confident she could do it faster than the other girl. If this was all it took to get the main slut to stay away from Zero, she would do it.

Yuuki stood on one side of the table as Serah stood on the other. They attracted a crowd but the brunette couldn't see her blonde best friend. Everyone was hooting and hollering and she caught a glimpse of Kaname before Serah's friends shouted, "Go!"

They both started off fast. Yuuki was knocking them back one by one as was Serah. But by the sixth one, the brunette was starting to feel queasy. Her throat burned and lips were numb. She was determined though. She didn't have enough time to glance to see how the other girl was doing. After her tenth and final shot, she slammed the shot glass down. The crowd around them was shouting that she was the champ. She looked over and saw Serah was doubled over, puking.

She did it. She really beat that slutty, blonde's butt. Throwing her fist up in the air, she received pats on the back from people she didn't recognize. Suddenly the room started to spin and she had to sit down.

"Yuuki!"

She turned her head to see her best friend Yori, coming towards her. She smiled brightly. "Yori! I did it! Did you see me!?"

The blonde rushed over and grabbed her brunette best friend to keep from falling over. Yep she was drunk all right. "Yuuki, I was gone for 10 minutes and I catch you in a drinking contest with Serah! What were you thinking?"

Said brunette just stared at her but she knew that she was gone. Her eyes were glazed over and she was wobbling on her feet. There was no way she could take her to her house like this. Her parents were going to kill her. And no way was she taking Yuuki back to Juri Cross. She was never going to face the wrath of that woman again.

"Yori, I don't feel so good." Yuuki whined. If they weren't in a situation like this, Yori would have laughed at her best friend. The brunette never got this way and it was kind of amusing.

"Ok, I will help you to the bathroom. Come on," Yori threw Yuuki's arm over her shoulder and made her way through the crowd to help her to the bathroom. This was when she ran into the host of the party.

"Is everything ok, Yori? You want me to help you?" He asked, his eyes full of concern for the brunette.

But Yori still wasn't sure about him yet. So she shook her head and said, "No, but could you point me to the nearest bathroom? I think she just needs to puke it up."

He pointed to the hall way to his right and said it was the second door on left side. Luckily there wasn't anyone using it so she dumped her best friend by the toilet and she went to lock the door behind them. Good thing she did because Yuuki decided to get sick. Her head went right into the toilet. The blonde was left with trying to find a way out of here and getting her home without Juri killing her. Only one person popped in her head… Zero.

She knew the two weren't on the best of terms right now but she knew he wouldn't be heartless enough to just let Yuuki face the wrath of her mother. And Yori trusted the silver haired man to not take advantage of her best friend. Yuuki stayed at his apartment many times before. Yori searched for Yuuki's phone and found it in her little purse she brought along.

She scrolled the contacts, hoping that Zero had gotten a cell phone in the last couple months. Sure enough, there he was in her phone. Pressing send, she knelt down beside Yuuki to rub her back. It rang four times before he picked up.

"Hello?"

He sounded like he had been just been woken up. He sure was unlike any other guy she had known. Who goes to sleep around 11 o'clock on a Saturday night?

"Hey Zero? It's Yori… and before you ask, I was just calling to see if you wouldn't mind doing me a favor?"

He took a second before saying, "Well I'm guessing it has something to do with Yuuki since you are calling from her phone. Is she ok?"

"Depends on your definition of ok…" Yori stated. She looked to see said girl throwing up again.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Well I don't have all of the details yet but we are at Kaname's party right now and for some reason, Yuuki had too much to drink. I can't take her home because I mean, you know how Juri is. And I don't want to run into the risk of taking her to my place… my parents would kill me for going to a drinking party."

She heard Zero sigh into the phone, "Look, Yori. I don't think I should—"

It was right then that someone started to knock on the door. "Hold on a minute, Zero. Someone's at the door."

All Zero could hear was Yori saying to someone that they were currently using the bathroom.

"Oh Kaname, no she's fine." As soon as the lavender eyed man heard that, his ears immediately perked up. "No, she just needs to get home so she can lay down and sleep it off… It was kind of you to offer but I don't think it's a good idea to have her stay at your place."

'Like hell she was staying at his place,' Zero thought. As soon as he heard that Yori dismissed the president and she got back on the phone, he said hurriedly, "I will come and get her. What's the address?"

Yori smiled and told him. Before hanging up the phone, Zero told her to be outside in 10 minutes and he would pick her up. 'Crisis averted,' Yori thought. Now she wouldn't have to worry about her parents. Now the next challenge would be to get Yuuki outside. She turned to her best friend and asked, "Can you stand Yuuki? I got you a ride out of here."

The brunette just nodded and looked so tired. Her eyes were still glazed over and she smelled of puke. Yori searched the cabinet above the sink and found mouthwash. Yuuki gurgled some of that all the while still swaying on her feet. After that, they finally made their way out of the bathroom.

The blonde was holding her up and making her way towards the exit when Kaname came up beside them. "Is she ok?"

Yori nodded, quickly. "Yeah but I got someone to come and take her home. We were just on our way to meet him outside."

"Do you need any help?" The brunette male offered. She was about to say no because she could tell Zero and Kaname did not get along. Frankly, they downright hate each other. But this was also the time Yuuki chose to almost fall backwards and Kaname caught her around the waist. After that, he wouldn't take no for an answer. They reached the driveway and Yori watched Kaname's hands to make sure they stayed where they should.

Hey, she wasn't taking any chances. He had a thing for her best friend. The brunette girl was silent the entire time. But when they got her to sit down, she said, "Thanks Yori. You are such a good friend to me."

She beamed and then turned her smile to Kaname. "Thank you, Kaname. You are just so kind to me."

Kaname looked away but Yori caught the blush. Oh thank god she was getting her out of here. Apparently, Yuuki was the type of drunk to smile her best smile to people and everyone was her best friend. That could turn dangerous with the student council president around. Yuuki wouldn't be normally saying these things so hopefully he took them lightly.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Zero pulled his car right beside them. 'Wow that was quick.'

He got out of the car and the blonde saw how Zero immediately tensed when he saw Kaname beside Yuuki. He shot a glare over at him as he did the same. She knew it was a bad idea to have the brunette male help with the drunken Yuuki.

Kaname turned to her and said, "This is who you got to take her home. You are not seriously letting him take her, are you?"

Just before she could answer, Zero cut in. "Oh you can bet I'm taking her far away from here. So just go back inside and entertain your guests. I'm taking her with me."

"Like hell you are. She doesn't want to go anywhere with you." Kaname snarled at him.

At this, Yuuki stood up real fast and said, "Hey, stop fighting. Kaname, quit trying to look out for me. Zero is my best friend and I would be very, very happy if he could take me home. So don't be mean-ah!"

Yuuki swayed too much on her feet and she was going to fall right down the porch stairs. Zero caught her quickly, looking concerned. He pulled her to him and Yuuki didn't say anything after that. She just felt so warm and comfortable in his arms. The silver haired male had enough of this. He was taking her back to his place. He swept her up in his arms and carried her bridal style to his car.

He shouted over his shoulder to Yori, telling her to open the car door. She obeyed and he put her in his car easily. He sent a cold stare over at Kaname but it was interrupted when Yori said, "Thanks Zero. I know I can count on you to take care of her."

He nodded and asked, "You will be ok getting home?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just make sure she's ok. She doesn't normally drink like this so watch over her." The blonde said, concerned for her best friend.

"I will." And then even though he heard some protests from Kaname, he got in his car and drove away to his apartment.

Yuuki looked like she fell asleep. Her eyes were closed and she started to smile. When they reached his place, Zero picked her back up and carried her up the stairs of his apartment. As soon as he made it in there, the brunette looked up at him and said sickly, "Zero, I don't feel so good."

He hurriedly made a beeline for the bathroom but it was too late. She turned her head away from him and barfed all over the floor. Luckily, his pants caught the worst of it. He tried not to think much about it. Just get the girl to the bathroom and he would get to change. To be honest, vomit always made him queasy himself. He set her down on the floor as he told her he would be right back.

He went to put a pair of sweatpants on and then made his way back to the bathroom. He could tell Yuuki vomited again. As soon as she saw him, she started to cry. "Zero… I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't ruin your pants. Please don't be more upset with me."

Said male tried to ignore the ache he felt in his chest when he saw her tears. He just needed to focus on getting her to go to bed to sleep it off. "I'm not upset with you. If you're feeling better Yuuki, we better get you cleaned up and into bed."

She weakly nodded and he helped her up to the sink. Some of her hair had vomit at the end of it. He tried not to think about it when he washed them. He stood behind her so she could use him for support. Yuuki's hazy mind liked the feel of the warmth of his body behind her. It was giving her ideas… ideas that she knew she shouldn't be thinking.

She looked up at him dizzily. He was really taking care of her. Maybe he wasn't so mad at her. She knew she was blushing as she felt really warm but she just let the feeling happen; the feeling of being safe and comforted.

Zero looked down at her but then instantly looked away. His cheeks warmed up when he realized just how pretty she did look tonight. He was also angry that Kaname must have been ogling her all night. Who convinced her to wear such a short dress? He wasn't used to seeing this side of Yuuki. He said quickly to her, "I'm going to pick you up and carry you to bed, ok?"

The brunette just nodded. He swept her up into his arms again and carried her over to his bedroom. He set her on the bed so she was sitting up and had her feet dangling over the edge. He started taking her boots off when Yuuki asked, "Do you hate me, Zero?"

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. She looked so defeated and weak. He smiled gently at her, "No of course not. Just get some sleep and we will talk in the morning."

She nodded and he finished taking off her boots. Zero pulled the blankets over so she could slide in. he tucked her in and went to go out to sleep on the couch. He was stopped by her hand catching his wrist. Her touch was electrifying. He turned to stare down at her.

"Zero, whatever I did to make you mad at me, please forgive me." The silver haired man looked into her pleading eyes, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around her.

"There's nothing to forgive, I'm not mad at you, Yuuki."

What he saw next made his heart stop beating for a moment. She smiled, so warmly at him… almost like he was so important to her. "Good, I couldn't stand not being with you, Zero."

Then she let him go and drifted off to sleep. He quickly made his way out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He covered his face to hide the blush stained on his face. Yuuki was surely a dangerous creature when she was drinking. He decided to not think much more about it as he made a place for himself on the couch. He was just going to deal with it in the morning.

**A/N: I hope you guys all liked it. I tried my hardest to get this out on time but then I ended up needing an extension on it. Hopefully I will be able to get the another up in January but in all honesty, January is a busier month for me so it might not be until February. But thanks you guys so much for being understanding and patient with me. You have no idea how each one of your reviews always made my day better. I love to hear all of your guys thoughts on it and can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter so hopefully I didn't disappoint!**

**Well until next time everyone! Happy Reading! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to AmiMinazuki, CJPost, zeKaien, Shizza24, Xtremefairy, LeeshyLoo, HOC97, Midnight Phantomhive, imuya, AnimeFreakGurl144777, Teeshalynn123, teesha, and Melinda. meningmedivet for the reviews. Wow thank you guys sooo much! I'm soooooo sorry about the long wait. The manga was ticking me off plus I have been obsessed lately with Doctor Who... like really obsessed lol And I wanted to get this chapter out before my birthday tomorrow because I will be busy all weekend lol**

**But enough about me. Read and tell me what you think! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

_"I love her, and it's the beginning of everything."_

* * *

Stretching herself out of sleep, Yuuki awoke feeling so comfortable._ 'It also smells nice… but wait, I'm not in my bed. This isn't even Yori's!' _She sat straight up but then immediately regretted doing the action. The pounding headache kicked in and she felt instantly nauseous. She groaned, closing her eyes, and slowly laid her head back down on the pillow. She then began to rub her temple, hoping the headache would subside. After several minutes, she opened her eyes to study her surroundings.

'_Wait a minute, this looks like—'_her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. She looked over and sure enough, the silver headed Zero stepped through the doorway. How in the hell did she end up here? He wasn't even at the party last night. Not only that… what was she doing in his room, sleeping in his bed? She really couldn't remember what happened or the events leading up to this scenario. Lavender eyes fell on her, trying to see is she was awake. Yuuki hurriedly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. No way could she face him right now.

After hearing his footsteps go over to the other side of the room, she risked a peek to see what he was up to. She watched as he went into his closet and pulled out, she recognized his work uniform. Then he made his way over to his dresser, not sending any look her way again. She caught of glimpse of what had to be a pair of boxers. She instantly reddened and shut her eyes tight. Counting the seconds in her head, she finally heard the door open and close.

After opening her eyes back up, she thought _'Ok, it seems I ended up here somehow. But how? And even though I'm still in the same clothes from last night, why are the ends of my hair frizzy like it's been washed?' _All she could recall from last night was the drinking contest with Serah but then after that… nothing. '_Oh god, that means I must have gotten seriously drunk which never happens. I hope I didn't drunk call Zero and made him come get me. Who even knows what I said or did? I wonder what happened to Yori though. She wouldn't have left me behind?'_

Even though she was embarrassed, she was so grateful that she woke up here and not at Kaname's. The door opened suddenly and he gaze flicked over to meet the lavender gaze of Zero. They stared at each other for a moment, completely silent. She felt a blush coming on being under his unwavering stare. It unnerved her a little but not in a bad way. She went to say something so her blush would not show through, but he turned his head away from her suddenly. He opened his drawer on the dresser to get out a pair of socks.

The brunette studied him, confused. '_Oh god, what did I say or do last night to make him so stand offish?' _Finally Zero spoke up, "You alive then?"

Somehow, that comment made her want to roll her eyes. But she restrained herself because she really needed to get to the bottom of what all went on last night. "Yeah, umm what am I doing here?"

Zero's eyebrows went up. "You don't remember?"

"No, not much at all."

"Really… you blacked it all out last night?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I wouldn't be asking if I did remember. All I can recall is taking a bunch of shots of whiskey and then…"

Yuuki trailed off. She suddenly did not feel like she should tell Zero why she got in a drinking contest. She thought that it seemed childish now and didn't want him to think any worse of her.

"And then what? What even possessed you to drink in the first place? Especially that much at a party." He said this as if he was scolding a child.

The brunette didn't like that. "Don't talk to me like that, Zero. And quit blowing it up. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Are you even listening to yourself, Yuuki?" He said, stunned. "When I got to Kaname's, you were hanging on him and smiling brightly up at him. I'm pretty sure he was thinking of all kinds of ways to get you to go upstairs with him."

The brunette couldn't help it. Her eyes widened in horror at the thought. She really didn't want to believe that she acted like a complete idiot but it must have been true. "No way."

"Luckily, Yori called me to take you back to my place. No way I was letting you stay with him. You were way too sick to stay much longer anyway."

She flushed angrily; not at him, but at herself. Why did she act so stupid? It was all because she had to get in that drinking contest over him. Worse, Zero had to take care of her. That was the worst part of all. He probably thought she was so pathetic. she didn't know why she cared so much about what he thought of her. His opinion mattered to her. _'Why does it seem so awful that he might think so badly of me? I never really cared what people thought about me.' _She thought to herself.

She looked down at her hands gripping his bed sheets. _'Oh god… he must have let me sleep in here when, by the look of the dark circles under his eyes, he slept out on the couch.'_ Her heart melted a little at the thoughtfulness but she really felt bad. She looked back up at him, "I'm sorry, Zero."

His expression became puzzled, "You're sorry?"

She nodded, slowly. "Yeah. You shouldn't have had to put up with me last night. You didn't even go to the party in the first place. You went out of your way to make sure that I was safe and comfortable… Thank you. No one really has gone to such lengths for me before."

Zero was frozen in place. But then after a minute, he abruptly turned his back to her without saying a word. Now confused, Yuuki asked, "Zero, what's -"

"Nothing," He said hurriedly and gruffly. "Just shut up for a second."

Definitely ticked off now, Yuuki's feelings of appreciativeness and thankfulness quickly turned to anger. There she was trying to be sincere and apologize while he just acted like a jerk off. She was really tired of not knowing what she did to make him so short with her. "You know, here I am actually admitting to you that I'm wrong and sincerely grateful that you came to that ridiculous party to make sure I was ok. And all you can do is be your absolutely unpleasant self. Well Zero, I also sincerely mean this, you really need to take that stick out of your butt and loosen up."

The said man turned back around to glare at her. "Me? Yuuki, I hate to say this but last night sure proved that you're idea of loosening up sure isn't a good one. So I think I will pass on that."

The brunette narrowed her cinnamon eyes at him. Zero went on to say, "You need to learn to not get in a ridiculous drinking contest with someone. You know you can die from alcohol poisoning right? I really thought you would have more sense to know that is not a good thing."

His tone was condescending and patronizing. He really thought he was smarter than her. The brunette threw the sheets off her body and quickly stood up to march over to him. "You know what, I don't appreciate—"

Feeling like she stood up too fast, she swayed on her feet; head feeling like it was going to explode. Her vision was going dark and she felt her legs want to give out. She fell a little off to the side but something caught her fall. She looked and saw it was Zero's arms that stopped her fall. His lavender eyes scanned her worriedly, trying to asses her condition. Blushing, she quickly pulled away from his grasp.

Zero let go, but still watched her. She quickly smoothed over her appearance. The brunette moved to change the subject. She wasn't happy with the idea that flitted through her mind about liking how she felt in his arms. She was locking that though up and never going to think of it again. "Honestly, I don't even know why put up with you crabby ass all the time."

The silver haired man looked away for a minute. Then said with absolutely no emotion in his voice, "Then I guess you shouldn't hang around me anymore."

Yuuki watched him. "What's your problem? I mean, really. I was only joking."

"What if I wasn't?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know you're just being a jerk right now but that isn't—"

"I'm being absolutely serious about this." He finally looked at her but this look scared her. His eyes looked glazed over, like he wasn't even really there. "Maybe it's time for us to stop spending so much time together."

"What?"

"I mean it. I think we are getting too comfortable with each other. We are graduating this year so we will have to go our separate ways anyway at the end of the year. So what's the point? We won't see each other after we graduate. You'll go off to college while I move back to the other side of the country. It's better just to do it this way."

Yuuki still hadn't been convinces. What changed all of the sudden? Why did he want to end their friendship so easily as if they weren't planning on a forever kind of thing? To be honest, she thought they were going to be friends after school ended. "Zero, come on. You're being absolutely ridic—"

"Oh my god, Yuuki." Zero said, exasperated. "What part of this don't you get? I just don't want to be friends with you anymore. I'm done with this little game."

There was such a finality and cruelness in his that made it made her tremble. The air went out of her lungs. What did she do? Her eyes burned so she quickly turned away from him. She would definitely not let him see her cry. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Putting on her boots that were beside the bed, she said, "Whatever."

She was really angry with him. He was being really stupid and hurtful. Her chest burned from the thought of rejection. Was her friendship really that easy to throw away? He really was just like all the rest of them. She was thrown away like she was nothing but trash.

Snatching her purse that lay on the nightstand and making her way past Zero, she whispered, "You're just like him."

Then she left the room.

Zero realized what the meant. No, she really not must have understood his reasoning for doing this. And to hear her say those words so brokenly; he couldn't let her leave like this.

He tore after her and saw she was almost to the door. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her while the brunette instantly froze. She looked down at the contact and then back up at him. Her eyes were angry but teary. "Let go of me, Zero."

"Listen, it's not about anything you did. This isn't your-"

She tried to pull her wrist away from his grasp but he held on tightly. "Don't you dare give me that speech. Whatever, it's done. You don't have to explain yourself. You got what you wanted so now let me go."

He shook his head stubbornly. She immediately became more angry. "What the hell is your problem? You just said we couldn't be friends anymore so I'm leaving. You can't just throw that out there and expect me to let you take it back a few minutes later!"

"I'm not trying to take anything back. I meant what I said. I just need to make sure you understand-"

"Shut up, right now! Let me go! I don't want to hear your moronic reasons." She was trying with all her might to push him away from her. Every word he was saying was only making the hole in her chest that much deeper and more hollow. When she saw that he really wasn't going to let go of her and saw there was really no way out of this, that's when the tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Damn it! I trusted you, Zero; wholeheartedly. I really thought we were friends. I have never felt this closeness with anyone since Yori..."

He tried pulling her into his arms but she wouldn't let him. She already looked pathetic enough. She really wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "Please, let go of me, Zero. I really don't know how much more I-"

Finally, he relented. He let go of her wrist but when she went to turn towards the door, he grabbed ahold of either side of her face and pulled her to crash their lips together. Shocked beyond all else, the brunette froze. Her eyes were wide open to make sure she really wasn't hallucinating. Zero was really kissing her.

Before her brain or body could even contemplate on what to do, he pulled his head back and backed away from her. Dead silence followed while Yuuki just watched him. His eyes were still closed and his head was slightly down.

Then he pushed past her, abruptly. Putting on his shoes, he mumbled. "Sorry. Do you get it now?" And before she could say anything, out the door he went.

That kiss was totally out of left field. No, she didn't get it. What she did get was that he only confused her more? Why would he do that? Then she realized that was also a real, genuine kiss and it was her first one. Her face flushed but surprisingly, she did not feel an ounce of disgust that she suspected she would have. She kind of... sort of... slightly... liked it.

Trying to dash those feelings quickly from her mind, she also tore out of his apartment. She needed some air.

* * *

**One Week Later, Monday**

A whole week... an entire week had gone by and not a word from Zero. The only time the brunette even saw him was in class. Even then, he did not send one look her way. She wished she could say the same thing for herself.

Even though she avoided talking to him, she couldn't help but watch him. It was becoming a scary habit of hers. Of course, she only watched him when she knew for sure he wouldn't notice her. She was now catching herself knowing all his little habits he had; like how when he was bored, he would slouch a little in his chair and look out the window. His eyes would get this serene look, like he was a million miles away. How she really knew what he was thinking. Was he thinking of her at all? Another habit she never noticed before was how if he was playing rapt attention to the teacher, he would bite his left thumb in concentration while quickly writing down what said teacher was saying.

But then after this, her gaze would zero in on his lips and then she would go back to when they had been on her own lips. How surprisingly soft and warm they felt... and then she would vigorously shake her head to get that thought out of her head. That memory would just not go away. That kiss they shared had ruined her. She couldn't really concentrate in school and you could forget about sleeping. All over a stupid little kiss. It was all his fault.

But even though she hated to admit it, she missed him... badly. After she got home that Sunday, she decided that she was just going to forget everything that happened, including ever entangling her life with Zero's. She learned a few days later that it was just impossible. She never realized how deeply Zero rooted himself inside her heat until he wasn't there anymore. Even if she wanted to talk to him, he made it clear that he was done with this friendship and been avoiding her just as much as she was.

"Yuuki!"

Startled, Yuuki whipped her head around to find her best friend, Yori looking at her. "Hey, the last bell just rang to let us out of school."

"Oh... sorry. I wasn't paying attention." The brunette replied, distractedly.

Yori looked at her best friend, concerned. "Yuuki... what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said, too quickly for it to be truly nothing.

The blonde girl shook her head. "No. There is something wrong and some reason, you're not telling me... is this about Zero?"

The brunette really didn't want to talk about it. She never told Yori about what happened and she would have liked to keep it that way. But maybe she could shed some light on this situation. After all, she was her best friend. "Why do you say that?"

Yori smirked a little. "Yuuki, we have know each other since pre-K. I know when something is bothering you and I did notice he hasn't been around at all... so why don't you say you come on over to my house tonight and tell me all about it?"

Yuuki gave her a little smile. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Good." Yori smiled back. "Come right after you get done here. I will see you then."

She then walked out of the classroom. Yuuki got up also and went to her locker. Maybe this was all she needed was a little girl talk. She just hoped Yori could help her because she didn't know how much more she could take of this. As she reached her locker and got her books out, she saw Zero coming up the hallway. That wasn't what caught her attention though. It was the fact that he was walking down the hallway with another girl.

She didn't immediately recognize the girl, just remembered that she saw had seen her somewhere. Of course, it was one of Yori's cheerleading friends. Not only that, she was the same one that was talking with him in the classroom before. She thought she took care of that but she was wrong. As the brunette watched them, she realized that Zero really wasn't all that bothered with the girl like he always was. She was talking excitedly to him, smiling and laughing while he would have his slight smirk/smile on his face.

That familiar sting came back in her chest. How she wanted to stop them in their tracks and rip him away from her. Didn't he just kiss her a week ago? Why was he still not even looking at her? Finally as they breezed past her, he looked away from the girl and their eyes locked for just a second. Then she saw how his demeanor instantly changed and he walked just a little faster while she heard the blonde cheerleader yell for him to wait up.

Yuuki just was so confused but also a little worried about him. She hadn't walked to him for a week but yet she still worried if he was ok. Why was she thinking this? She should hate him for what he did. Hopefully Yori could help her sort out her feelings but she just couldn't deal with it anymore. She was sick of it.

So after she got her things all rounded up, she took off to Yori's. When she pulled up to the house, she saw that Yori already had made it. When she parked and got out of the car, Yori opened the front door with a smile, "Hey Yuuki! You're a little bit later then I thought you were going to be."

"Yeah, I got caught up at school." Yuuki waved off.

"Well come on, I'll make us my famous hot chocolate and we will get down to business." Yori smiled bigger and raced off into the kitchen while Yuuki sat on the couch. The brunette girl chuckled to herself. She really did miss these times with her best friend. She felt like they haven't had something like this in a long time. Although, usually it was because another guy broke Yori's heart but this time it seemed like the roles were reversed. Yori came back over with a mug in her hand, breaking Yuuki out of her thoughts.

After they sipped a little at the hot chocolate, which was delicious, Yori asked Yuuki, "Ok, no you're going to tell me all about what happened. Because I know it has to be something big."

Yuuki looked in her mug of hot chocolate, hesitating at first. Why was she though? Yori was her best friend. So that's when she told her... everything. Leaving out the part about Zero's past. She knew he wanted that kept a secret and she honored that. But she told her best friend about how much they had been arguing and also about what happened at his apartment. Yori squealed in delight.

"Oh my god, Yuuki! I knew it! I really knew that you guys were going to hook up!"

Yuuki looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about? Didn't you hear what I just said?"

The blonde nodded, excitedly. "Yes, of course I did! And don't give me that look. You can't honestly think he doesn't like you, do you?"

The brunette girl went silent. Yori rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I should have known with you. Of course he likes you. He kissed you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but then he ran away Yori. Not to mention that everything leading up to that, he sure made it out like he couldn't even stand to be around me for more than a few minutes. I know I don't have any experience in this department, but I'm sure that means he doesn't like me."

"Oh poor, naïve Yuuki. Everything that you have told me only points out further that he likes you way more than you think. Especially the part about how he gets so mad at the thought of Kaname and their natural hatred towards each other." The blonde stated.

Yuuki really didn't get it. Zero was acting so damn confusing. "Ok. Tell me this then. Why does he not want to be around me anymore? Or anytime he does see me, he tenses up and walks off in the opposite direction?"

Yori nodded. "Ok. Yuuki, I mean this in the nicest way possible. You have made it clear from the beginning that you don't want anything to do with love or boys in general. Let's just say, he started liking you back when you started getting tutored. He knows how guarded you are so when he realized that he had feelings for you, he knew he couldn't tell you. You would reject him obviously. So he decided that it was just best to let you go."

Yuuki shook her head. "But that's just stupid. Why couldn't he just talk to me?"

The blonde shook her head, "Because Yuuki, he thinks you will just instantly reject him. He's just as guarded as you are... wait a second, you know you like him, right?"

"Of course I like him... I wouldn't be here if I didn't." The brunette scoffed.

"No, I mean _like _him." Yori said, emphasizing the work like. "Like you would consider dating him."

Yuuki's eyes widened. "Well I mean.. I do like being with him. And I like when it's just me and him, and not anyone else bothering us... and I can't get that kiss out of my head or how it feels to be wrapped in his arms... oh my god, I think I.. I think I do."

Her best friend squealed even higher than she did the first time and hugged her friend tight. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, Yuuki! You finally get what I've telling you about for years!"

"Yori... why are you excited? This is horrible." The brunette said, softly. How could she have gone and let herself like him like that? How could he break down all those walls she had carefully built around herself for years in only a matter of a couple months? She was so stupid. She put her legs up to her chest and laid her head between her knees.

Her blonde friend looked at her concerned. "Yuuki, it's not horrible. It's a good thing. You finally found someone that makes all the bad things that happened in the past just disappear. They make you see that the world is not so bad anymore. Everything just seems brighter."

Yuuki looked up at her friend. "If it does all those things, then why do I feel so scared?"

Yori smiled at her, sadly. "It's normal to feel scared. Even more so now because you aren't exactly sure how Zero feels. But I can tell you without a doubt that he likes you too. All you got to do is talk to him."

"I can't, Yori."

"Why?"

"Because he ran away after he kissed me." Yuuki said. "Maybe he doesn't want that with me. How do I know I won't ruin what's left of the trust that we have with each other? I don't want to seem like one of the many girls that want to get him as some sort of prize. He's so much more than that."

Yori's heart truly went out to her friend. She remember what it was like to be so scared to tell the other person. But she knew deep down that Zero had it bad for Yuuki. She knew it the minute he sat down at their lunch table. "Yuuki, you missed the first part of what you said. He _kissed _you. Does that seem like normal Zero behavior to you? Besides, that's the risk you have to take. But why miss out on something that could truly be the best thing that has ever happened to you?"

The blonde's words hit her like she had just been doused in cold water. Maybe she should give this a chance. After all, she really couldn't see her future without him in it. He really did become important to her and she learned she hated the thought of him with anyone else. She was going to do it tomorrow. Talk to him. She only hoped that she really didn't regret it..

**A/N: Sorry if the ending was a little meh but I hoped you liked it! Like I said, I'm sooo sorry for the wait. If you read my reason above, I won't repeat it here but it's really no excuse. So I hope you will bear with me because I'm in no way giving up on this story just because the manga ended... which was so crappy by the way. I hope you can forgive me for the wait on this.**

**But I would like to especially thank and give a shout out to Teeshalynn123 and Melinda. meningmedivet for messaging me and helping me get my butt into gear to write thid chapter. Seriously you two, thank you! It showed me how much people really liked my story and it helped me tremendously!**

**So I hope the next time we meet it won't be so long but I'm not going to make any promises but hopefully the next update will be in July maybe August. Happy reading and I hope to hear everyone's feedback!**


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